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Did you know, Valentine's Day in Colombia is observed as “Dia del Amor y la Amistad,”
Day of Love and Friendship.
I had the pleasure of living and working in the country of Colombia, where Valentine’s Day, is observed as “Dia del Amor y la Amistad,” better known as Day of Love and Friendship
In the Colombian tradition, this day is for procuring unity between family members, honoring marriage, showing appreciation for groups of friends and co-workers all of which is done through acts of kindness where people meet to show appreciation for the unity and involvement in each other’s lives.
In many countries like the US, Canada and the UK, “Valentine’s Day” is observed on February 14, which is the world’s most popular day, however, in Colombia; the day is celebrated on the third Saturday in September. Colombia changed the date in 1969 so merchants could sell more roses and chocolates in September, which is a month that has no holidays in Colombia.
The celebrations are to express gratitude, love and affection. One way this is done is to play “secret friend,” which is like secret Santa. You select someone’s name randomly from a drawing and buy them a gift that gets exchanged during agreed dates. If you decide to play secret friend, then you will receive a daily candy with a kind note of appreciation, encouragement, or a romantic poem from the person who drew your name. Keep in mind that you too will need to give back to the person whose name you drew. You may also be asked to submit a list of options of gifts you want to receive and you can bring food to be shared on the day of gift exchange.
When celebrating with family and friends, usually the whole family is involved and games are played, kind words are exchanged, food is central to the entire event as is the traditional gift-giving of roses, chocolates, little surprises for children as well as romantic dinners for couples and romantic music to which a lot of dancing is done. It is a day of laughter, fun, friendship, gratitude, and kindness.
We at NOCOVFM want to promote unity between family members, honor marriage, show appreciation for friends our employees, our hard-working vendors as well as the community and our customers who through their acts of kindness have shown us appreciation by supporting us.
This week we partnered with Creative Hands and each order placed will receive a beautiful, playful and cute Valentine’s Day Greeting Card with a special hidden surprise inside. So sit back and browse our website and see what we have in store for you this week in terms of flowers, chocolates, desserts, candy, greeting cards, gifts and so much more for our vendors. And when you receive your orders on February 13th, please don’t forget to check the inside of your card for a special surprise!
This year, Valentine’s Day is more than a day for lovers, it is a day for all… friends, acquaintances, co-workers, the community and more. A day of Love and Friendship, not only for those we hold dear, but for everyone!
Visit our Vendors and:
Live, Love, Shop Local… for all Your Bear Necessities!
See you next week!
Sincerely, Candida and Alexa
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