News

Feb. 13: A Holiday I Prefer Not to Celebrate

By Kristina Samulewski

Produced by Vishakha Darbha

Galentine’s Day, celebrated on Feb. 13, a day before Valentine’s Day, has been popularized as a day for women to celebrate their female friendships.

In this audio essay, the Opinion Audio news assistant Kristina Samulewski argues that rather than celebrating women, Galentine’s Day patronizes them, particularly single women. Samulewski makes the case for doing away with the pop culture celebration and instead refocusing Valentine’s Day on the universal experience of love — familial, platonic or romantic.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Credit…Illustration by Akshita Chandra/The New York Times; Photograph by Ania Lamboiu/500px, via Getty Images

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: [email protected].

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, X (@NYTOpinion) and Instagram.

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Engineering by Isaac Jones with mixing by Pat McCusker. Original music by Isaac Jones and Pat McCusker. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski.

Related Articles

Back to top button