Día del Amigo

Día del Amigo (Spanish, Friend's Day) is a celebration of friendship, held annually on July 20 in South American countries Argentina and Uruguay and on July 30 on Paraguay.

History

During the twentieth century, there were several initiatives for the celebration of Friendship Day in different parts of the world. In the United States and parts of Asia, the first Sunday of August was reported as the date of delivery of greetings and presents to friends, and similar celebrations were formed in different countries of South America and Europe at different times. In countries like Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, Friend's Day is deeply rooted in society.

The initiative to establish an internationally recognized Friendship Day had a historical antecedent called Global crusade of friendship, which was a campaign made to provide value and enhance the friendship between human beings, so that a Culture of Peace is fostered. It was designed by Dr. Ramón Artemio Bracho in Puerto Pinasco, Paraguay, in 1958. From this idea, July 30 was set as Friendship Day. In Paraguay, the eve of July 30 is utilized for giving gifts to close friends and loved ones, and celebrations are very common in bars, nightclubs or dinners with close friends. It is also considered traditional the game of the "Invisible Friend" in which small pieces of paper, in which the names of all members of a group are written, are given to all the members of the group, each one selects one piece of paper (in secret) and he gives a present to the person with the name on the paper the day 30. This custom is practiced in Asuncion and other cities of Paraguay, in schools and workplaces.

Then, came the idea for Friend's Day from Argentine teacher, musician, and dentist Enrique Febbraro, who lobbied to turn the anniversary of the first moon landing into an international day of friendship,^[1] along with his Rotary Club de Once, Buenos Aires. He argued that on this particular day, the whole world had been friends of the three astronauts. The first official recognition of the day came with decree No. 235/79 by the government of Buenos Aires Province, which authorized the celebration and gave it official nature.

Argentina

In Argentina, Friend's Day is often a good excuse for a common friendly gathering, though people also employ the day to get in contact with old and seldom-met friends and greet them. Since it is not a public holiday in Argentina, the gatherings tend to happen during the evening.

Friend's Day has in recent years turned into a very popular mass phenomenon. In 2005, the amount of well-wishing friends led to a temporary breakdown of the mobile phone network in the cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Córdoba and Rosario, comparable to the one experienced in 2004 on Christmas and New Year's Day. Seats in most restaurants, bars and other establishments are already completely booked a week before the celebration.

Brazil

Dia do Amigo (Portuguese: Friend's Day) is April 18.

See also

• International Friendship Day (first Sunday of August)

References

1. ^ Día del Amigo - Historia