Singles Awareness Day
Celebration of single people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Singles Awareness Day (or Singles Appreciation Day, or SAD) is an unofficial holiday celebrated each February 15.[1][2]
Holiday
Singles Awareness Day is the flip-side to Valentine's Day meant for those without a romantic attachment.[3][1] It is a celebration of love in other forms recognizing the love between friends, family and even loving yourself.[4] People who observe Singles Awareness Day reportedly may do so out of spite for Valentine's Day, as a Hallmark holiday, or for other reasons.[3]
On Singles Awareness Day, single people gather to celebrate or to commiserate in their single status. It also reminds romantic couples that they don't need to be in a relationship to celebrate life.[1][5]
History
According to Dictionary.com, the invention of SAD is often credited to journalist Julian Barnes. According to Barnes, he and fellow high school friends invented the idea in 2001 as a sort of joke to celebrate that they were single, in reaction to Valentines day on February 14, when all supposedly non-single people celebrated their attachments. It comes one day after Valentine's Day, poignantly because this is when unsold candy hearts and other affections of love go on sale.[6][7] They eventually started capitalizing on their idea in a more literal sense by selling cheap candies and chocolates.
In the United Kingdom, two days are attributed to highlighting single status. Since Single Awareness Day spells "SAD" and a group of dating experts wanted to highlight a more positive tone, they established National Singles Day. It is celebrated on 11 March with the aim to empower those who identify themselves as single.[8][1][9]