Amor y Amistad isn't Valentine's Day shifted by seven months. The date names both things in its own title, and in practice friendship carries as much weight as romance: someone with nobody to celebrate with in February does have someone in September, because the game is played in groups.
That's why the date lives in offices, classrooms and circles of friends before it lives in restaurants.
How the Colombian date works
Third Saturday of September, not February 14
The celebration always falls on the third Saturday of September, so its number changes every year: September 19 in 2026.
Landing on a Saturday isn't a small detail, since it leaves the day free for gathering, going out and handing the gift over without taking hours from the work week.
Why it moved: a question of household money
The move was made in 1969, at the request of merchants. The argument was economic: in February, Colombian households were coming out of Christmas spending and going into the start of the school year, enrollment, uniforms, supplies, with little room left for gifts.
September, a month with no other holiday on the Colombian calendar, was free to take the date.
Where it's played: office, school, university
The September amigo secreto is above all a group affair. It's organized by work team, by class, by department or among circles of friends, and many companies close it with a shared breakfast or lunch on the day.
The budget is agreed beforehand and tends to be modest: the game lives on surprise and on the steady stream of small gifts, not on the amount.
The week before: the endulzadas
What turns the date into a week rather than an afternoon are the endulzadas: small anonymous gifts left in the days before, each carrying a clue about who's sending them.
Saturday closes the circle: the guessing, then the main gift. How many endulzadas, and of what kind, each group decides for itself; there's no national rule.
Organizing the date without anything leaking
Draw a week or two ahead and set gift day on the Saturday itself: that leaves room for the endulzadas without anyone having to keep track by hand.
The draw stays sealed, even from whoever organized it, which is precisely the part a slip of paper in a bag never quite guaranteed.
And agree on the budget in the same message that carries the link: half of all awkward exchanges start with two people working from different numbers.
Set up your Amor y Amistad amigo secreto
No account, nothing to install, free. Enter the names, pick the third Saturday of September and share one link. The endulzadas are up to the group; nobody sees the draw result early.
