Galentines, Black Love, International Quirkyalone Day? 7 Valentine's Day alternatives

Valentine's Day is coming! Time to do romantic, over-the-top things with your true love to show them (and everyone else) how much you care for them and how happy you are to have someone special in your life.

But what if you don't? What if you're single, by choice or happenstance or that's just where you are in your life right now? What if you're in a relationship but can't be with your loved one on February 14th? What if you just don't like Valentine's Day?

Fortunately, there are alternatives.

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What is Galentine's Day?

"It's only the best day of the year," said Leslie Knope, deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department of the (fictional) town of Pawnee, Indiana.

Galentine's Day is probably the most famous V-Day alternative. It comes the day before Valentine's Day and it's set aside to celebrate your BFFs rather than your lover.

Galentine's Day began in Season 2, episode 16 of the TV show "Parks & Recreation" when Knope, played by Amy Poehler, took her girlfriends to a local diner to honor them with disturbingly specific gifts. How was the holiday celebrated? According to Knope:

• Leaving your boyfriends and husbands at home

• Kicking it breakfast style (i.e. go grab some waffles or pancakes at a local spot)

• Ladies celebrating ladies

You don't have to be single to celebrate Galentine's Day. It's not a holiday meant to reflect on loneliness or bash the couples who will fill up the restaurants and romantic picnic spots the following day, it's a celebration of close (often female) friendship and of love in all its non-romantic forms.

Galentine's Day 2023: When it is and how it's celebrated

(Another sitcom-inspired holiday, "Desperation Day," is not so friendly. Created by womanizer Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris, in "How I Met Your Mother," Feb. 13 is the day he says singles are desperately trying to find a Valentine's Day date and may be less... discerning... than otherwise.)

When is Galentine's Day 2023?

Galentine's Day 2023 will be Monday, Feb. 13, 2023.

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What is Palentine's Day?

Palentine's Day is a celebration of friendship that grew out of the success of Galentine's Day to include everybody. There are no rules or particular customs, it's just a day to appreciate platonic love and the friends in your life by spending time together and doing things you like. See a movie, catch a game, get a meal or just hang out.

When is Palentine's Day 2023?

Palentine's Day 2023 also will be Monday, Feb. 13, 2023.

What is Singles Awareness Day?

Also known as Singles Appreciate Day, Singles Awareness Day was created as a lighthearted alternative — and possibly the antithesis — of Valentine's Day.

As the story goes, single high school student (and later USA TODAY trending reporter) Dustin Barnes began promoting it in 2001 for himself and his friends to celebrate their unattached status. They deliberately picked the day after Valentine's Day, both in protest and because they could get cheaper candy in post-Valentine's Day sales. He continued to promote it when he went to Mississippi State University and it caught on, spreading far past students to people around the world. It even has a song.

Now it is a day to celebrate (or commiserate) one's single status and the friends in their life. The fact that the acronym for Singles Awareness Day spells SAD is probably a coincidence. Ahem.

Don't want friends around? Celebrate yourself. Take yourself out to dinner, curl up with a book, go see a movie on your own, have a spa day, hike, do things you enjoy to appreciate yourself.

A similar holiday on the 13th, "Self Love Day," created by author and empowerment coach Christine Arylo, encourages you to recommit to the relationship you have with yourself. National Call In Single Day, Feb. 14, grew out of a group in Yahoo Personals and lasted long after Yahoo Personals was shut down.

Outside of the U.S., Finland celebrates Friendship Day on Feb. 14 to honor friends and lovers. You can celebrate "National Singles Day" in the UK on March 11. On April 14 single Koreans celebrate "Black Day" by heading to local restaurants and eating an awful lot of jajangmyeon (a cheap but tasty noodle dish). "Singles' Day" or "Double 11" in China (Nov. 11) is a day for single people to go out and buy themselves something and it's become the biggest shopping day in the world, more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

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When is Singles Awareness Day 2023?

Singles Awareness Day 2023 is Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.

What is International Quirkyalone Day?

According to the IQD website, "International Quirkyalone Day is a do-it-yourself celebration of romance, friendship, and independent spirit. It’s a celebration of all kinds of love: romantic, platonic, familial, and yes, self-love."

But the site is quick to point out it's not anti-Valentine's Day or a "pity party." International Quirkyalone Day is an alternative to the "marketing barrage" of Valentine's Day, or wnat they call the "Hallmark Holiday." Started by life coach and author Sasha Cagen in 2000, IQD predates the other American V-Day alternatives on this list and quickly spread around the world with parties or solitude, whatever you value. If you're single, IQD urges you to celebrate your life exactly as it is. If you have a partner, IQD reminds you to value yourself and your individuality even as part of a couple.

What is "quirkyalone"? IQD says it's "a person who can feel whole (or aspire to feeling whole) being single and so prefers to wait for the right person to come along rather than dating indiscriminately; relishing equal doses of solitude and friendship; attracted to freedom and possibility."

When is International Quirkyalone Day 2023?

International Quirkyalone Day falls on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. "It just happens to fall on the same day as Valentine’s Day," according to the IQD site, "That’s our story and we’re sticking to it!"

What is Satisfied Staying Single Day?

Created as one of 80 "special days" by Thomas and Ruth Deck Roy, Satisfied Staying Single Day is for singles who are perfectly happy and fulfilled being without a partner.

"It’s okay saving money not spent on flowers and candy, unless they’re for yourself," the website says.

When is Satisfied Staying Single Day?

Satisfied Staying Single Day is Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.

What is Black Love Day?

In 1993 Ayo Handy-Kendi, the founder of the nonprofit African American Holiday Association, created "Black Love Day" as 24 hours for Black people to love and cherish each other and commemorate Black culture, customs and traditions.

“We encourage people on this day to do something very simple — just demonstrate love for 24 hours, and celebrate and atone, offer forgiveness to ourselves and to others, and to accept the very important tenets — what we call the five black love tenets,” Handy-Kendi told the Daily Dot in 2016. "Showing love for the creator; love for themselves; love for their families; love for the Black community; and love for the Black race."

Now in its 30th year, each Black Love Day has a theme (this year's is Black Love Heals 365!) but aside from honoring Black people and culture it's a day of atonement and celebration using the healing power of love with the goal of increasing peace, stopping violence, ending Black self-hatred, ending white supremacy and racism, and offering "a spiritual, African-centered alternative to the commercialized, and sometimes violent, Valentine's Day," according to the BLD website.

When is Black Love Day 2023?

Black Love Day is Monday, Feb. 13th, 2023.

What is National Love Your Pet Day?

Tired of humanity in general? The week after Valentine's Day you can celebrate your furry (or feathery, or scaly) friends instead. Spend a day pampering them, giving them extra treats, or just spending some extra time with the creatures who love you unconditionally. Don't have a pet? Pamper a friend's, or visit a shelter and give the animals there some love.

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When is National Love Your Pet Day 2023?

National Love Your Pet Day is Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.

C. A. Bridges is a Digital Producer for the USA TODAY Network, working with multiple newsrooms across Florida. Local journalists work hard to keep you informed about the things you care about, and you can support them by subscribing to your local news organization. Read more articles by Chris here and follow him on Twitter at @cabridges

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Black Love, Galentines, Quirkyalone, Staying Single, Love Your Pet Day