Not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on September 16.
CINCO DE MAYO
Battle of Puebla
Observed by Mexicans, US Americans, mixed nationality
Type ,Multinational
Significance,Commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War; celebration of Mexican heritage and pride; commemorate the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”) is a celebration held on May 5. It is celebrated in the United States. It is also celebrated in parts of Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla,where the holiday is called El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (English: The Day of the Battle of Puebla).

It “is a much bigger holiday in the United States” than Mexico, especially in the western and southwestern states.It originated with Mexican-American communities in the American West as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War,and today the date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day—the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September …

The American Cinco de Mayo celebration originated in the Mexican-American communities of the American West,Southwest, and Northwest in the 1860s. Mexicans and Latinos living in California during the American Civil War are credited with being the first to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States. It grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican-American populations, like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. Eventually it expanded across the United States. On June 7, 2005, the U.S. Congress issued a Concurrent Resolution calling on the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo with appropriate ceremonies and activities.