Cinco de Mayo celebrates military victory in 1862

YOUNGSTOWN — Cinco de Mayo, like St. Patrick’s Day, is a holiday with origins outside the United States celebrated year after year by people across the country with food, drink and general merriment.

While the party aspect of the holiday is an important part of the celebration, Cinco de Mayo isn’t just another holiday created to give Americans an excuse to drink on a weekday.

For anyone of Mexican descent, the holiday has much more value and significance.

Sometimes mistaken for the Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo (May 5) is a celebration of the Mexican militia’s victory over the French army at The Battle of Puebla in 1862.

Rev. Rolando Rojas of the Spanish Evangelical Church, Youngstown, said Cinco de Mayo became a day of celebration in the Mexican community because of the sense of pride felt after the small Mexican militia defeated the much larger French Army.

“Mexico hasn’t had great armies to protect itself, so being able to push back the French army was a victory in itself,” he said. “Mexican people are known for being farmers, not soldiers, so it gave us a sense of pride.”