Mim meets Montreal: This one’s for the laaadiiiiesss

Photo by John Rodousakis

Episode 13: In which Mim celebrates the sacred Galentine’s Day

You know what’s better than Valentine’s Day? Galentine’s Day. Having said that, I would have honestly answered “anything” to that question, but hey—I found out this weekend that Galentine’s Day is actually a happening thing. While the name may derive from Parks and Recreation, I am sure that the idea has been around for decades.

I admit, when my friends told me about Galentine’s Day I was a little cynical. I thought, “Geez, that’s pretty sad: women getting together to celebrate being single with B-grade rom-coms, heart-shaped chocolates and cheap champagne.” In this hermit-inducing winter, however, it is through comfort food and trashy films that we can find solace. At least, I speak for myself. So, when my two non-single female friends invited me to spend Galentine’s Day doing exactly that, I didn’t pass on the opportunity.

Maybe our evening didn’t exactly follow the generic interpretation—the rom coms were A-grade/top quality, the dessert was chocolate lava cake (way better) and the alcohol was pink wine—but that’s beside the point. The event wasn’t created to provide women with an excuse to spend an evening getting fat on junk food and sulking over the non-existent men in their lives. It is about rejoicing in friendship (please excuse the corniness—it was the weekend of Valentine’s Day after all).

We made a fancy salmon dinner followed by baked whisky-and-maple syrup-infused brie. Bridget Jones made an appearance along with Sixteen Candles and Practical Magic. We had a productive evening. Breakfast was blueberry heart-shaped pancakes and candy.

To my surprise, Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated any more widely or enthusiastically in Canada than it is in Australia. And as for Galentine’s Day, I say there should be a guys’ equivalent, too (if there isn’t already). Well, really, we should just celebrate friendship every day, full stop. We could say the same about any of these over-commercialized, over-hyped events: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and, of course, National Feral Cat Day (I mean, we can’t forget the poor feral cats out there, right? Totally is a thing by the way, celebrated Oct. 16).

 

Here’s to making every day Galentine’s day, amirite ladies?

Photo by John Rodousakis

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