What Is Galentine's Day?

"Parks and Recs'" Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, was the ultimate girlfriend. She celebrated them every day of the year, but especially Galentine's Day. NBC Universal

Valentine's Day brings a lot of pressure and expectations, whether you're in a relationship or not. But Galentine's Day — that's a day for low-key hangs and full-on friendship.

What's Galentine's Day?

"Oh, it's only the best day of the year."

That's how Leslie Knope described her favorite holiday on the hit workplace mockumentary show "Parks and Recreation."

"Every Feb. 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies," she said. (It's on season 2 episode 16, if you want to watch it as part of your own celebration.)

Knope's Galentine's Day always involved brunch — particularly waffles, her favorite food. And since Galentine's Day is about celebrating friendships, there's plenty of room under the "ladies" tent to honor all kinds of friends and all kinds of genders who want to kick it, breakfast-style.

More than a decade after the holiday's invention, Galentine's Day has caught on in a big way.

But its message hasn't gotten through ungarbled.

Some people believe that Galentine's Day is a holiday for women without partners, some kind of make-up holiday for not having a proper Valentine. But Galentine's Day couldn't be farther from being some kind of pity party.

It doesn't matter whether you have a romantic partner of any kind — this is a day just for telling your friends how awesome they are. Save your romance for the next day.

How to Celebrate Galentine's Day

There are tons of Galentine's gift guides out there, but there's no need to spend big. In that first Galentine's Day episode, Knope, of course goes way overboard. She gifts her girls bouquets of hand-crocheted flowers and 5,000-word essays on what makes each of them amazing.

But Knope's a known overachiever. All you really need to celebrate is time with friends. But a simple, inexpensive or even free gift is nice, too. A 5,000-word essay on how awesome each of your friends is? Maybe not. But a note in a card to let them know is totally doable.

And don't forget brunch. And waffles. With whipped cream. Lots of whipped cream.