Cinco de Mayo, aka 5th of May

[Joe Bob]

If you are determined to go out and celebrate tonite.....be safe, not stupid and don't drive.

That is all.

[Turbo_pro]

[Jolly Amaranto]

I don't often celebrate the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla.....But when I do, I celebrate on May 5th by drinking a Shiner Bock.

[onlycafe]

[Heel n Toe]

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

[Hugh R]

When I first moved to CA 35 years ago I asked someone when was Cinco de Mayo.

[sammyg2]

A guy I work with (who happens to be hispanic) told me this morning that cinco de mayo celebrates the day they invented the leaf blower.
Yes, it was a joke and he went on to splain how cinco de mayo is more of a US holiday than a Mexican day of celebration. He said they might as well call it Corona day.

Plus it's amatuer hour. The professional drunks stay home on cinco de mayo, St. paddies day, new years, etc and let all the amatuers get busted and crashed and in trouble.

[craigster59]

I had always thought Cinco De Mayo was Mexican Independence day. So imagine my surprise when in the middle of September they had a big carnival in Oxnard, rides, games, beer etc.

I was telling one of the guys at work about all the fun I had, but didn't know what the big Mexican celebration was for. He said "September 16th, that's when the new Chevys come out".

[jcommin]

Cinco De Mayo is not celebrated in Mexico. Another American style holiday that is an excuse to drink!

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by jcommin

Cinco De Mayo is not celebrated in Mexico. Another American style holiday that is an excuse to drink!

yeah, right? I was looking for some awesome asada taco deals today, but they don't know what I'm talking about. They celebrate some other holiday that occurs earlier.

[MRM]

There is a real historical reason why Cinco De Mayo is celebrated by Mexican-Americans and not much in Mexico. This article explains it.

Rooted in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo Flowered in the U.S. | RealClearPolitics

From the article:

It’s Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that originates with an 1862 Mexican military victory in the city of Puebla. The battle pitted Mexican Army defenders against a French expeditionary force dispatched to Mexico by Napoleon III. The outcome was not strategically important -- and the French captured the town a year later -- but it was highly symbolic to the Mexican diaspora in North America, most especially expatriates living in California.

When Spanish-language papers relayed word of the victory to Mexican miners laboring in the Mother Lode country 1,500 miles away, celebrations ensued with fireworks and fiery speeches. In Los Angeles, Mexican-American politicians who’d changed their citizenship without changing their addresses gave patriotic speeches.

California had been admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state, and the context of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations was the Civil War between North and South. The anti-slavery movement in California had been an alliance of Northern immigrants and local Latinos, and the Battle of Puebla was as emotionally significant to them as the Battle of Bull Run was to Americans living in the East.

(snip)

As UCLA professor David E. Hayes-Bautista has noted, this raised an obvious question: “Why is it that Latinos in the United States celebrate Cinco de Mayo so intensely, when it is not celebrated in Mexico?”

The answer, he says, is simple: “Cinco de Mayo is not a Mexican holiday -- it is an American Civil War holiday, created spontaneously by Mexicans and Latinos living in California who supported the fragile cause of defending freedom and democracy during the first years of that bloody war between the states.”

Kind of cool now that you know the history, isn't it?

[fastfredracing]

I celebrate it because it is my Birthday!!! T

[GH85Carrera]

So a celebration for defeating the French. Whoop-T-Doo. How long before the French raised the white flag as usual?

[bivenator]

I don't need an excuse to make some margaritas' on the rocks but Cinco de Mayo is as good as any. They were spectacular Jerry.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

So a celebration for defeating the French. Whoop-T-Doo. How long before the French raised the white flag as usual?

Hahaha!!!

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

I celebrate it because it is my Birthday!!! T

Happy one day after your birthday :P

[vash]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

Sink and mayo! Haha.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by MRM

There is a real historical reason why Cinco De Mayo is celebrated by Mexican-Americans and not much in Mexico. This article explains it.

Rooted in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo Flowered in the U.S. | RealClearPolitics

From the article:

It’s Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that originates with an 1862 Mexican military victory in the city of Puebla. The battle pitted Mexican Army defenders against a French expeditionary force dispatched to Mexico by Napoleon III. The outcome was not strategically important -- and the French captured the town a year later -- but it was highly symbolic to the Mexican diaspora in North America, most especially expatriates living in California.

When Spanish-language papers relayed word of the victory to Mexican miners laboring in the Mother Lode country 1,500 miles away, celebrations ensued with fireworks and fiery speeches. In Los Angeles, Mexican-American politicians who’d changed their citizenship without changing their addresses gave patriotic speeches.

California had been admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state, and the context of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations was the Civil War between North and South. The anti-slavery movement in California had been an alliance of Northern immigrants and local Latinos, and the Battle of Puebla was as emotionally significant to them as the Battle of Bull Run was to Americans living in the East.

(snip)

As UCLA professor David E. Hayes-Bautista has noted, this raised an obvious question: “Why is it that Latinos in the United States celebrate Cinco de Mayo so intensely, when it is not celebrated in Mexico?”

The answer, he says, is simple: “Cinco de Mayo is not a Mexican holiday -- it is an American Civil War holiday, created spontaneously by Mexicans and Latinos living in California who supported the fragile cause of defending freedom and democracy during the first years of that bloody war between the states.”

Kind of cool now that you know the history, isn't it?

I still don't see what that has to do with leaf blowers .............

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by rusnak

Happy one day after your birthday :P

Thank you !!!