What is Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo, 5th of May in English, is not the most original name for a holiday. Then again, Americans have the 4th of July so I guess we can’t cast judgment. Unlike the 4th of July, however, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day. That Day is actually September 16th. It isn’t even a obligatory federal holiday in Mexico, but a regional holiday celebrated in the state of Puebla in recognition of the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1962. This battle delayed the French invasion of Mexico City, but a year later the French succeeded in taking it. In 1867 the French were finally evicted.
It is believed that the American observation of May 5th first started in California in the 1860s in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. Today it is an American drinking holiday that is thinly veiled as a celebration of another country’s cultural heritage, much like St. Patrick’s day and Oktoberfest. So, wearing an over-sized sombrero, I raise my Dos Equis into the air and shout, “Viva Mexico!”
Interesting, B. I always viewed it as another excuse for people to party. I was invited by a fellow teacher to go out for drinks with a bunch of them. At 3 o'clock. One way to get through the day, I guess!
Have a good one, all!
(I was trying to figure out what day it was yesterday...different schools run by block schedules which follow days - A, B, C etc.. So when I asked what day it was I had an 8 year old tell me, "It's Sinko D Mayo!" Cute, but he had no idea what it meant!
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I know that's how I celebrated it. I wrote the Alternate Dimension article under the influence of margaritas - I'll have to re-read it today. I bet it is odd.
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