Answer:
A quinceañera is a traditional Latin American celebration. I will compare it to a Sweet Sixteen.
1. Sweet 16's are held at sixteen, quinceañeras are celebrated at fifteen.
2. The reason quinceañeras are celebrated only for girls is because it marks the start of womanhood. In earlier societies, quinceañeras were held with the purpose of presenting a daughter into society, so that she could soon be married. Sweet 16's are thought to originate in the Victorian era, and were also known as debutante parties, which held a very similar purpose to quinceañeras.
3. Both celebrations traditionally have a shoe ceremony. For both of them a father, uncle, or godfather will present the birthday girl with a high heel shoe on top of a pillow, which she will put on removing flat shoes, marking the passing from girlhood into adulthood.
4. Both also traditionally have a father-daughter dance. In quinceañeras, they will almost always dance to waltz, although less traditional families can change this. In Sweet 16s the music of choice could change depending on the family, but traditionally it would be also waltz or jazz.
5. Candle lightning ceremonies are also common for both. The only difference is the number of candles, quinceañeras are usually fifteen while Sweet 16s are sixteen, representing the age.
