Cinco de Mayo 2024: When is Cinco de Mayo 2024 & 2025?

Below you can find dates of Cinco de Mayo 2024 and Cinco de Mayo 2025. In the table you can check how many days you have been on holiday, which week is the holiday and which day of the month.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. The day is also known as “Battle of Puebla Day”. While it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations.

 

Cinco de Mayo Background

In 1861, Benito Juárez—a lawyer and member of the indigenous Zapotec tribe—was elected president of Mexico. At the time, the country was in financial ruin after years of internal strife, and the new president was forced to default on debt payments to European governments. In response, France, Britain and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz, Mexico, demanding repayment. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew their forces.

 

France, however, ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to carve an empire out of Mexican territory. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large force of troops and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.

Cinco de Mayo isn’t a national holiday in Mexico, although it is celebrated in certain Mexican municipalities, most notably Puebla and Veracruz. Nor is Cinco de Mayo the equivalent of Mexican Independence Day. In fact, despite the Mexican victory at Puebla on May 5, 1862, the French continued to occupy Mexico for five more years.

 

Cinco de Mayo Celebrations

Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a huge celebration in many communities across the U.S. meant to honor Mexican culture and heritage. Within Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is primarily observed in the state of Puebla, where Zaragoza’s unlikely victory occurred, although other parts of the country also take part in the celebration. Traditions include military parades, recreations of the Battle of Puebla and other festive events. For many Mexicans, however, May 5 is a day like any other: It is not a federal holiday, so offices, banks and stores remain open.

 

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is widely interpreted as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with substantial Mexican-American populations. Chicano activists raised awareness of the holiday in the 1960s, in part because they identified with the victory of indigenous Mexicans (such as Juárez) over European invaders during the Battle of Puebla.

 

Cinco de Mayo Customs and Traditions

The day is celebrated in the state of Puebla with parades, speeches, and reenactments of the 1862 battle, though it is not much noticed in most of the rest of the country. In the mid-20th-century U.S., the celebration of Cinco de Mayo became among Mexican immigrants a way of encouraging pride in their Mexican heritage. Critics observed that enthusiasm for the holiday celebration did not take off with a broader demographic until it was explicitly linked with the promotion of Mexican alcoholic beverages and that many U.S. festivities tended to both perpetuate negative stereotypes of Mexicans and promote excessive drinking.

 

The commercialization of Cinco de Mayo (and criticism of cultural stereotypes) has taken off. The research firm Nielsen reported that in 2013 Americans bought more than $600 million worth of beer for Cinco de Mayo, more than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day.

 

Cinco de Mayo Facts

• Many people outside Mexico mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican independence, which was declared more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla.
• Independence Day in Mexico (Día de la Independencia) is commemorated on September 16, the anniversary of the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s famous “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”), a call to arms that amounted to a declaration of war against the Spanish colonial government in 1810.
• Cinco de Mayo is a time when Americans celebrate Mexico, and Mexicans grumble that Americans have no idea what they're celebrating. This year, there is data to back up that perception - well, if you can count a poll paid for by Avocados from Mexico as reliable data. The poll says that only 22% of Americans know what Cinco de Mayo is actually about.
• Historians believe that the first Cinco de Mayo celebrations were held by Mexican-Americans living in California during the American Civil War, and were not so much “celebrations” as political rallies held for the purpose of generating support for Mexico during the Franco-Mexican War, according to this report by Time on how to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a historically accurate way.
• Although Cinco de Mayo was observed throughout the remainder of the 19th and the first third of the 20th century, it really took off after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted the “Good Neighbor Policy” in 1933, which was geared toward improving relations with Latin American countries. “Cinco de Mayo’s purpose was to function as a bridge” between the U.S. and Mexican cultures, according to José Alamillo, professor of ethnic studies at Washington State University (as reported by National Geographic). Its popularity grew in the 1960s when Mexican-Americans embraced it as a means of building their cultural pride.
• Both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama used Cinco de Mayo to connect with the Hispanic community by holding celebrations and receptions (inviting Cabinet members, Latino celebrities, and Mexican Embassy officials to the White House), and to promote immigration reform. In 2016, President Obama had 500 guests, food catered by San Antonio celebrity chef Johnny Hernandez, and music by Mexican pop band Maná. Vice President Mike Pence hosted the 2017 White House Cinco de Mayo celebration.
• The largest in the world is held in Los Angeles, California. It’s called the Festival de Fiesta Broadway, and it draws more than 600,000 people. Other major celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in the United States take place in:

 

• Chicago, Illinois
• San Antonio, Texas
• Denver, Colorado
• Chandler, Arizona (home of the annual Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua Races).

 

• Because of its commercial success, other countries like Malta, Australia, the Cayman Islands, and Canada celebrate Cinco de Mayo as well.
• In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is called 'El Día de la Batalla de Puebla', which means The Day of the Battle of Puebla.
• When the Mexican's beat the French in the Battle at Pueblo, it was unexpected. It was thought the French would win, who were there to collect on war debts.
• Spain and England also sent forces to collect debts but retreated after making an agreement with Mexico.
• The French army was better equipped, better trained and was much larger. Mexico only had approximately 4,000 poorly-armed soldiers and France had between 6,500 and 8000 well-equipped soldiers. France hadn't been beaten in 50 years.
• In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution to recognize the 'historical significance' of Cinco de Mayo.
• In 2006, there were at least 150 official Cinco de Mayo events taking place in the U.S.
• In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated mainly in Pueblo, Mexico. It is not as popular in the rest of the country.
• It is more popular in the U.S. then it is in Mexico.
• It is also celebrated in Malta, a country right below Italy.
• In Canada, there is a Cinco de Mayo Street Festival held in Windsor, Ontario. A Vancouver, British Columbia sky diving clubs holds a Cinco de Mayo sky diving event.
• There are also celebrations in the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands, Montego Bay, Australia, London, Paris and even New Zealand.
• All the public schools in Mexico are closed on May 5th.

 

Cinco de Mayo Symbols

In the U.S., it's become a time to enjoy Mexican culture with tequila, guacamole and tortillas.

The experts respectfully suggest that there are proper and respectful ways to enjoy Cinco de Mayo, and these do not include wearing sombreros and fake mustaches, or claiming the day is called “Cinco de Drinko.” Rather, to celebrate Mexico’s impressive culture and heritage, they suggest eating authentic Mexican fare, responsibly drinking a margarita or two, and most definitely listening to some of the wonderful music that comes from Mexico. And, of course, the best way to truly learn about Mexican culture is to actually visit Mexico; consider one of its most gorgeous and popular destinations.

Of course, Cinco de Mayo wouldn’t be complete without guacamole. In fact, Americans consume up to 81 million pounds of avocados on Cinco de Mayo every year, according to the California Avocado Commission. Americans spend upwards of $2.9 billion on margaritas annually (that’s 14 percent of American cocktail spending), and the United States is the biggest tequila market in the world. As for cervezas (Spanish for “beer”), Americans consumed almost a billion liters of Corona Extra in 2014.

It is another good idea to try learning traditional Mexican dances such as Jarabe Tapatío on Cinco de Mayo. You can take a class or simply give it a go in your own home. It is not only fun, but the exercise will help you feel less guilty when you chow down on traditional food later.

Check out the Cinco de Mayo in the following years.

• 2024 Holidays
• 2025 Holidays
• 2026 Holidays
• 2027 Holidays