Friend’s Day in Argentina

Dia Del Amigo, Friend’s Day, is a holiday Argentines celebrate every July 20. Very different from Thanksgiving in the United States where families get together, and Valentine’s Day where couples express their love to each other, Friend’s Day is an appreciation and gathering for friends.

With the growth of technology and online platforms, many people started greeting online. However, Argentines believe in sharing and enjoying the time together like the famous quote they say, “Cuando llueve, comparto me paraguas, si no tengo paraguas, comparto la lluvia”. This means that, “When it rains, I’ll share my umbrella, if I don’t have an umbrella, I’ll share the rain”. Although Friend’s Day is not a public holiday in Argentina, it is as significant to many individuals as it is to New Year, where restaurants are filled up with groups of friends. Teenagers, on the other hand, would bring sweets and candies to school to share it with their friends.

Recent years, Friend’s Day is becoming more popular in Argentina and many other South American countries. It is now proclaimed as an official holiday by the United Nations General Assembly. The UN Day of friendship celebrates not only friendships between friends, but also friendships between people with diverse backgrounds, adding further significance to the holiday.

This blog post was written by ICSC Co-Leader Analia Wu