Tereré Day

Tereré is an everyday Paraguayan social practice built around cold water, yerba mate, a guampa and bombilla. It is usually served in a round, with one person preparing and passing each drink in sequence. The gathering creates a space for conversation and hospitality across ages and social backgrounds. Paraguayan migrants have carried the practice into communities abroad.

Pohã ñana—fresh medicinal or aromatic plants—may be crushed in an angu’a and added to the water according to knowledge learned within families and from specialist sellers. Ingredients, purpose and serving etiquette vary; the heritage is not one standard recipe. UNESCO inscribed the traditional practices and knowledge of tereré in the culture of pohã ñana on its Representative List in 2020.

Law No. 4261 designates the last Saturday of February as National Tereré Day and also recognises tereré as Paraguay’s national drink. The statute created a commemorative day, not a national public holiday. The date logic therefore calculates the last Saturday each year, while normal work schedules remain in force unless an organisation separately arranges an event.