Our favorite celebration is the national holidays, originally from Chile, it is

celebrated for the commemoration of the beginning of the independence

process from the Spanish crown, commonly known as el dieciocho, most of
the largest celebrations occur on the 18th and 19th but the Holiday period
can last up to a week. Most of the Chileans for this celebration eat
barbecues, anticuchos, empanadas, sopaipillas, pajaritos dulces, terremotos,
among other things.
The traditional dance is the cueca, it resembles the courtship between the
rooster and the hen, the dance begins with a walk and then , the dancers
applaud as a gestura that refers to the heartbeat rythm.
Generally people get organized by communities to make fondas like the one
in O'Higgins Park in Santiago, which attract hundreds of people to their
festively decorated tents.
Chileans also gather as a family and eat typical foods. Some games that are
performed on this festivity are:
El emboque: it is a wooden toy, in the shape of a sphere or bell, with a hole
in the center. From his body comes a cigarette that has a stick tied to its
end that it needs to be inserted into the sphere or bell.
Kite: This game is made of a thin colored paper and is used with a thread in
which three others are attached, tied to sticks in the form of an inverted
tripod and consists of raising it to the sky.
El trompo: This game consists of winding the rope around the top, then
throwing it to the ground trying to make it spin. A top can be placed inside a
circle marked on the ground and the winner is whoever makes the most
marks on the top that is in the circle.
Tirar la cuerda: it is a game which is based on a long rope with a
handkerchief tied in the center, a line on each side delimiting how far the
groups can endure, at the signal the teams pull the rope to their side, the
team that manages to drag all the players of the other team to the other side
of the demarcated line wins.
Among others, polkas, carrera de 3 pies, el luche, la rayuela, etc.
In Chilean schools, dances such as Pascuense, cueca, caporal, la tirana, el
costillar es mío, trote nortino, among others, are performed on these dates.
In the past, the personal use of pyrotechnic items for fireworks in
celebrations was also allowed and traditional; however, it is currently
prohibited and only allowed as a mass spectacle. One of the most important
traditions is the fiestas patrias bonus, a sum of money given to the workers
so that they can celebrate these Holidays. Although it is not mandatory, both
the Government and more than 60% of the companies in the country give
these money bonuses to their employees.
For this celebration there are two days which cannot be waived, September
18 and 19, which means that a worker must not work for no reason at all.
Among the official activities, the authorities attend the ecumenical Te Deum
and the gala Opera on the 18th and the Military Parade on the 19th. In
addition, during the National Holidays, the raising of the Chilean flag is
mandatory in all houses and public services along the country.
We chose this celebration because it's absolutely typical, of our country. This
celebration holds some of the most important things such as share good
moments and good food while celebrating the country's birthday.
In our opinion this celebrationis special because firts of all, we remember or
commemorate to all those people who fougth and lost their lives during the
Spanish colomnization. In addition, we like it because of the family
gatherings, the food that is cooked in this celebration, as well as how it is
celebrated in schools since fondas are typically made, typical food is sold as
well, we like the music that is reproduced when dancing the beautiful dance
of the cueca and schools also organized to play the games mentioned above.