Every year, the month of February comes wrapped in a red bow and accompanied by a box of heart-shaped chocolates. Even before the calendar flips, some couples prepare months in advance, making reservations and furiously consulting TikTok for inspiration all to make that one day out of the year special: Valentine’s Day.

During a holiday with a reputation reserved for romance, it can seem difficult to focus on anything other than the couples holding hands on the sidewalk or the red and pink decorations adorning most major storefronts. 

“The sheer amount of societal pressure, even from fellow friends, dominates conversations sometimes, especially around this time of year,” said Daniel Zhao, a fourth-year computer engineering major at Northeastern.

To the relief of some, celebrations have shifted in recent years to include love beyond romance. The creation of new holidays like “Galentine’s Day” or “Palentine’s Day” highlight the importance of honoring friendships, and new research indicates that 55% of Gen Z and millennials believe friendship is more important than a romantic relationship. This is a welcome change in status quo.

“Friendships aren’t as valued or seen as important by a lot of people, and that’s unfortunate, because they really are,” said Joseph Schwartz, a professor of communication studies at Northeastern. “There’s a lot of cultural messaging in shows and movies and social media that makes romantic relationships seem like the most important relationship for people to have, and that’s not necessarily the case.”

A survey by the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Scholars and Storytellers found that 51.5% of respondents ages 13 to 24 wished more shows and movies centered around platonic relationships over romantic ones. This reflects an understanding of the significance of a figure who may mean even more than a lover — a friend.

“Platonic friendships can fulfill someone’s emotional and psychological needs just as well as a romantic relationship can,” Schwartz said. “In fact, the range of topics that friends discuss might be broader than the range of topics that romantic partners discuss.”

This couldn’t ring more true for Ethan Szeto, a fourth-year computer science and mathematics combined major at Northeastern. He’s known his best friend, Zhao, since early elementary school, and sees Zhao as someone he can be completely himself around.

“We’ve known each other for a very long time, so I feel like I can tell him anything,” Szeto said. “There’s nothing that’s really off the table. He’s always there, [even during] the very stressful times in my life, and I think of all the people I know, he’s known me the longest and knows what I want to hear from him.”

Whether or not someone has a best friend or epic bromance in their life, people require a diverse range of connections. Kristen Lee, a psychotherapist and professor of behavioral science at Northeastern, stresses how important it is to “diversify our ecosystem of love” in order to avoid overreliance on a singular relationship.

“I think what can be helpful for all of us is to be open-minded about the different forms of love in our lives and how they all have a special role,” Lee said. “The people that tend to have dynamic friends are situated within a community of belonging that really creates a life of what we call psychological richness — a sense of presence, connection and camaraderie.”

Zhao knows this from personal experience. “You definitely should not have a significant other without friends,” Zhao said. “If relationships were like a pie chart, your significant other would fill one part, but it would be missing without the friendship.”

Luckily, for long-time best friends Yeayoung Lee and Madison Kim, their pie charts are whole. Though the two recently got boyfriends, they made it clear that they will always remain each other’s priority.

“I think for a long time, I’ll always choose her over whatever relationship I’m in,” said Kim, a second-year architectural studies and business administration combined major at Northeastern. “I think the comfort level between us is very high as opposed to new relationships. [Our boyfriends] don’t know us nearly as well as we know each other because we’ve had 16 years, while these people are just getting to know us now.”

Lee agreed, affectionately referring to Kim as her “day one.” 

“In relationships, I feel like you’re usually trying to guess what the other person is feeling or reading into the text too much since you guys don’t know each other as well,” said Lee, a second-year mechanical engineering major at Northeastern. “With Maddie, it’s comfortable and I don’t have to overthink anything.”

This Valentine’s Day promises to be bigger than ever, with consumer spending expected to reach $29.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation, surpassing the current record of $27.5 billion in 2025. Shoppers are budgeting a record of nearly $200 on average for gifts, with spending on gifts for romantic partners expected to reach a whopping $14.5 billion in the U.S.

Nevertheless, one-third of consumers plan to purchase gifts for their friends. Estimates suggest there could be a new record set for spending on friends — about $2.4 billion — and that more people are beginning to buy into the festivities of a Galentine’s or Palentine’s.

Although there is no doubt that Valentine’s Day is first and foremost a holiday for romance, friendships are just as worthy of celebration. Before the day ends, don’t forget to grab your girls or hit up the boys to let them know how much you love them.