Cinco de Mayo

You'd never know it from all the hoopla here, but in Mexico, May 5th is not an obligatory federal holiday like July 4th is in the US.

But on May 5, 1862, despite being outnumbered by 2 to 1, Mexican forces defeated the French at Puebla marking the last time Europeans would invade the North American Continent. Although a considerable source of pride among Mexicans (and Mexican hyphenates abroad), Independence Day (from Spain), celebrated September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.