The biggest celebration happens in the capital, Tashkent. Independence Square fills up with thousands of people. There are huge stage shows with singers, dancers and traditional musicians playing the dutar, the tanbur and the doira. Children take part in performances - sometimes the whole school turns up in colourful costumes.
Independence Day also lands at the start of the school year. The next day, on 2 September, children head back into class with new schoolbooks and a fresh notebook. The holiday is a happy bridge between the long, hot summer and the start of the autumn term.
Across the country, families take the day off to be together. Many cook a big plov outdoors, gather in parks and listen to the national anthem. Cities and towns are decorated with the Uzbek flag - blue, white and green stripes with a crescent moon and stars. In the evening, fireworks light up the sky.
Children at school usually learn songs and poems about their country in the weeks leading up to 1 September. Some teachers ask their class to share what they are most proud of about Uzbekistan - a place, a food, a tradition - and put their answers up on a class display. Independence Day, here as in many places, is partly a celebration and partly a day to think.