“Galentine’s Day” transforms February 14

V-Day celebrations, Galentine Day parties and cards, change focus from romance to equality.

by Jody Dallaire

For the second year in a row, the Moncton YWCA’s Young Women’s Collective is inviting Moncton women to celebrate Galentine’s day on February 14.  No, that’s not a typo. I said, “Galentine’s Day” and not “Valentine’s Day”.

Galentine’s Day is a day to celebrate supportive friendship among women, by telling the women and girls in your life how amazing they are.  Moncton’s activities are part of a larger national initiative called the National Day of Action for Women and Girls, which is organized by the Girls Action Foundation, a national non-profit organization. The goal of February 14 celebrations is to engage young women and girls in local actions that will generate positive change on the issues that affect them.

The term "Galentine’s Day" made its first public appearance on February 11, 2010, during the American TV comedy series Parks and Recreation. In this sitcom episode, Leslie Knope (played by actress Amy Poehler) hosted a party for her gal-pals on February 13, calling it Galentine’s Day. As Knope explained: “It’s only the best day of the year… Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair — minus the angst.”

Valentine’s Day has had a historical significance in the women’s movement for many years now, thanks to Eve Ensler’s annual fundraising “Vagina Monologues,” expanded this year to “One Billion Rising”. February 14 is also known around the world as V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.

For the past 22 years (since 1991), feminists have organized a Women’s Memorial March in the city of Vancouver on February 14.  Originally organized in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver, the march is now a celebration of women, recognizing that women — especially Indigenous women — still face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis.  Participants come together to grieve the loss of their sisters, mothers, neighbors and friends,  to remember the women who are still missing, and to commit themselves to work for change.

Valentine’s Day has also seen conferences of historical significance for women. For example, in 1981 on February 14th, 1,300 women from across Canada gathered in Ottawa to talk about Canada's constitution and how changing it could positively impact women’s lives. On that day and in all of the activity that followed they, with thousands of other women across Canada who spoke up and took action, changed the history of Canada. Canada now has equality rights provisions, guaranteed to all in its Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This year the Girl’s Action Foundation is calling on women to either write a poem or a letter recognizing the contribution of women and girls to society for this year’s National Day of Action for Women and Girls. Hence, I leave you this week with an inspirational poem, written in 2011 by life coach Tia Sparkles Singh:

You.Are.Amazing.
As. you. are.
Stronger than you know.
More beautiful than you think.
Worthier than you believe.
More loved than you can ever imagine.
Passionate about making a difference.
Fiery when protecting those you love.
Learning. Growing. Not alone.
Warm. Giving. Generous.
Quirky. Sexy. Funny. Smart.
Flawed. Whole. Scared. Brave.
And so, so, so. much. more.

Starting on February 11, YWCA Moncton will be selling Galentine’s Day cards, zines, and buttons, all featuring original artwork.  Also, YWCA Moncton is hosting a Galentine’s Day Carnival at the Moncton Community Peace Centre on February 14th from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The Carnival is open to women and girls of all ages and admission is free (donations accepted though). All of the proceeds raised through these Galentine’s Day initiatives are returned to YWCA Moncton’s Young Women’s Collective.

© Copyright 2013 Jody Dallaire, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca