Friend’s Day in Argentina: Why It’s on July 20

July 20 is Día del Amigo (Friend’s Day), and it’s one of the most genuinely Argentine dates on the calendar: it was born here, its origin is documented, and it has become the night of the year when it’s hardest to get a restaurant table.

The origin: the Moon landing

It was championed by Enrique Ernesto Febbraro, a dentist, psychology professor and musician from Lomas de Zamora (in Greater Buenos Aires). On July 20, 1969, watching the Moon landing on television, he thought two things: that the achievement had been possible thanks to thousands of people working together, and that the whole world was watching the same thing at the same time. To him it was the best possible symbol of friendship.

He wrote and sent a thousand letters to a hundred countries proposing the date. He received around seven hundred replies. The custom took hold strongly here and spread to other countries in the region. In 2005 the Buenos Aires City Legislature made it official.

Why it’s such a big deal

Friendship carries particular cultural weight in Argentina, and there’s a structural factor too: unlike family holidays, each person can have several different dinners — school friends, work friends, neighborhood friends. That’s why it’s the night with the most crowded restaurants of the year, even more than Christmas.

What to give

Gift	Why
Sunflowers	“You’re my sunshine.” Cheerful and impossible to misread
Yellow roses	The official flower of friendship. They surprise because nobody expects them
Alstroemerias	Their meaning is literally lasting friendship
Wine or craft beer	For a toast that same night
Chocolates	Simple, and it always works
Surprise breakfast	Gets their day started early
A plant	A friendship that lasts for years, literally

For friends who are far away

It’s the best day of the year to send something to someone you haven’t seen in a while or who has moved away. That day everyone sends the same WhatsApp message; a physical delivery stands out on its own. More ideas in flowers for a friend.

Two practical tips

If you’re going out to eat, book two weeks ahead: it’s literally the hardest night of the year in Buenos Aires. And if you’re sending something to someone’s home, schedule it for the morning — by the afternoon everyone is already heading out.