May 05, 2011 10:15 AM EDT
comments: 1
Cinco de Mayo may now be known to many as a welcome reason to celebrate, let loose and party, but the history of the holiday is less of a reason to celebrate.
It is actually widely mistaken to be Mexican Independence Day (which Cinco de Mayo is not: that holiday takes place on September 16), given that the fifth of May is in celebration of Mexico's victory over a French army twice the size of their own. Yet while Mexican Independence Day celebrates an earned victory for the Mexican army that allowed them to, well, become independent, Cinco de Mayo instead celebrates the Battle of Puebla, one that was fought, in short, over money and debt owed to - surprisingly - the French.
Even more surprising, however, than the history behind the celebration is the fact that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated to a significantly lesser degree in Mexico than in the United States. It has, quite frankly, become more of an excuse for both Americans and Mexican-Americans alike to don sombreros, down Coronas, and play hooky from work.
Did you realize that Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day were not the same? Or that the holiday was more an American creation than a certifiable Mexican fiesta? How do you celebrate?
