Are Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day the same holiday? Here’s what to know
In the United States, many Americans mark Cinco de Mayo by eating Mexican food, drinking margaritas and listening to mariachi music.
Despite the holiday’s popularity, a 2018 survey conducted by NationalToday.com found that just 10% of Americans knew why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated.
It’s widely believed that Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day are the same holiday, but the latter is observed more than four months later, on September 16.
Here’s how Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day became holidays.
What are the origins of Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War, a conflict that represented the resistance of the Mexican Army, according to historians.
The battle was the result of Napoleon’s attempt to take over Mexican territory. Roughly 6,000 troops were sent to attack Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico.
Benito Juarez, the president of Mexico at the time, responded by sending 2,000 men to Puebla, where they fortified the town and prepared for the French assault. After the day-long battle, the French retreated and lost 500 soldiers.
Why was the Battle of Puebla important?
The Battle of Puebla wasn’t a major strategic win for Mexico, but it was a major to promote the country’s defiance against France, according to history.com. France withdrew from Mexico in 1867.
The same year, Archduke Ferdinand Maximillian, who had been appointed emperor of Mexico in 1864 by Napoleon, was captured and executed by the Mexican Army, records show.
What happened in Mexico on September 16?
On September 16, 1810, the Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, which began in central Mexico, is considered the start of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
This battle cry was issued by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Roman Catholic priest from Dolores, according to the Library of Congress: “My Children, a new dispensation comes to us today…Will you free yourselves? Will you recover the lands stolen 300 years ago from your forefathers by the hated Spaniards? We must act at once.”
After more than a decade of battles, Spain finally withdrew and recognized Mexico as an independent country.
Mexican Independence Day has since evolved into a nationwide celebration filled with patriotic speeches, parades, fireworks and home-cooked feasts.
