Here's When You Can Officially Celebrate Galentine's Day With Your Best Girls

Regardless of whether you're in a relationship or flying solo this year, there's one day in February that should be circled with a big red heart on your calendar. But surprise — it's not Valentine's Day. Instead of exchanging flowers, candy, and corny Hallmark cards with your significant other for V-Day, get ready for Galentine's Day: an even more fun holiday solely dedicated to celebrating your best gal pals. So when is Galentine's Day 2019, and where did the holiday come from? Leslie Knope has got the answer.

If none of this is ringing a bell so far, you'll need to stream some Parks and Rec, ASAP. Galentine's Day started out as a fictional holiday on an episode of the show (Season 2, Episode 16, to be exact) before quickly turning into a full-blown sensation according to The Atlantic. Leslie Knope, played by the always delightful Amy Poehler, simply loves lavishing gifts on her girls and sets aside Feb. 13, the day before Valentine's Day, to toast to her best buds. As she so perfectly describes it: "Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst." There's a little day drinking, a lot of brunch food, and presents galore — sounds pretty amazing, right?

All it takes is a few episodes of Parks and Rec to understand why the adorable Leslie Knope would be the force behind a holiday that's all about celebrating your best friends. The show's producer Mike Schur wrote on Poehler's website Smart Girls that Galentine’s Day was "conceived of as a way to show that Leslie cared as much about Ann, and her many other girlfriends, as she did about her romantic partnerships." Leslie and her BFF Ann Perkins (played by Rashida Jones), have one of the greatest TV friendships ever, according to Pop Sugar, and I wholeheartedly agree. These two ladies are so supportive of each other, never bring each other down, and thankfully avoid falling into silly TV tropes like fighting over the same guy (which is so refreshing).

So if you've got a beautiful tropical fish or perfect sunflower like Ann in your life, Galentine's Day is an awesome opportunity to let her know how much she means to you. You don't need to necessarily write a 5,000-word essay on why you love your friends so much like Leslie would (though you can, if inspiration strikes). Like any true holiday, there are tons of different ways to celebrate. You can pour your heart out in a cute Galentine card, or you can go all out Pinterest-style with Galentine's crafts from The Spruce. You can throw the perfect Galentine's bash with tips from HGTV, and of course, serve up delicious Galentine's Day waffles (the breakfast, lunch, and dinner of choice for Leslie Knope). Doesn't all of this sound way more fun than waiting three hours for dinner in a packed restaurant on Valentine's Day?

The best way to get into the Galentine's spirit, however, might be to put together a mini binge of all the G-day Parks and Recs episode. In addition to the original episode, there's also Season 4, Episode 6, and Season 6, Episode 16.