In the Gregorian calendar, the Mapuche celebration varies between June 20 and 24, so the festival will not be the same in subsequent years. The President`s veto, which establishes the winter solstice each year as a National Indigenous Peoples Day holiday and maintains the October 12 holiday, was adopted unanimously (35 votes). This is the date on which the martyrdom of the apostles Simon Peter and Paul of Tarsus is commemorated in Rome, which is celebrated every year on June 29. Minister Juan José Ossa also thanked the willingness of the House of Lords to “agree on an agreement that allows different visions to coexist on two important holidays”. However, its presence in the calendar would vary over the years, as the festival corresponds to the date on which the winter solstice takes place, which was celebrated every year by the Aymara and Incas in addition to the Mapuche. While working on the law, some senators proposed changing the holiday to October 12, which is a movable holiday commemorating the arrival of Spaniards in America with the “meeting of two worlds,” but that idea was discarded. Article 2 of Law 19.973, as amended by Laws 20.215, 20.629 and 20.918, determines which holidays will be inalienable in Chile. The rule states that May 1, September 18 and 19, December 25 and January 1 of each year are mandatory and non-dispensable holidays for all commercial workers, except those who provide services in places such as clubs, restaurants, entertainment venues and other places. Therefore, June 21 is not included in this category. Senator Carmen Gloria Aravena said: “I thank on behalf of La Araucanía and all this means that on Monday we will be able to celebrate this first holiday for indigenous peoples and the recognition of the interculturality of the earth.” The chamber unanimously approved the president`s veto, which also states that starting in 2022, the day of the winter solstice is a holiday and October 12 will be maintained. The House of Commons also followed suit and prepared it for enactment. It should be recalled that the previous evening Parliament had transmitted the report of the Joint Commission on the proposed establishment of Indigenous Peoples Day. Then the Chamber of Deputies did the same, so that this year`s holidays could take place on Monday.

(See related note) A query that goes viral at the beginning of a new work week is generated by the error in some calendars that appear on Monday 20. June would list June as a holiday, while others would list Tuesday, June 21. This year, 2022, the National Day of the Indigenous Peoples will be celebrated for the second time in Chile`s history. A statutory holiday that had a long process in 2021 and commemorates Indigenous peoples. This year, 2022 will be celebrated for the second time since its inception, National Indigenous Peoples Day. The law came into effect in mid-June 2021, a few days before the first holiday of this commemoration. The truth is that Tuesday, June 21, is indeed a public holiday to commemorate the National Day of Indigenous Peoples, as clearly expressed in Law No. 21.357. Tuesday, June 21, is indeed a National Indigenous Peoples Day holiday, but it is not an inalienable holiday. “The day of the winter solstice every year in the southern hemisphere, national holiday of indigenous peoples,” establishes the law for this holiday, which has been considered from the year 2021.

Well, for those who can`t, June brings the possibility of a long weekend, Monday, June 27, when it`s classified as a holiday. Senator Alejandro García Huidobro said that “we see a global solution that leaves the Day of Indigenous Peoples and that it adapts to the solstice and fills the holiday of October 12, which has been abolished because it is also a very important date” Finally, and thanks to a veto by the President, it was possible to establish the National Indigenous Peoples Day as a public holiday, keeping on October 12 and 29. June, a Catholic feast celebrating St. Peter and St. Paul. Senator Juan Antonio Coloma said that “the equation captured in this veto is reasonable, which is to give room for the Native American holiday to have a logic with the winter solstice and also with the evaluation that our country makes of Spanish-American culture.” In addition, “with regard to the discussion of October 12, I think It has its origin in an old discussion and an economic vision of what it means for the productive sector to add a holiday.” With the President`s veto, this argument is destroyed because a new holiday is added and I would not discuss the others because I have focused on the recognition of Indigenous peoples,” said Senator Provoste. Holidays during the work week are a good opportunity for workers in Chile to add an extra day of rest amid the vicissitudes of the workplace.