Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I love any reason to celebrate a holiday with a theme!
First, a quick history lesson. 🙂 (I am a teacher after all!)
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the triumph of a small Mexican army over French forces in an 1862 battle. The odds were against the Mexican people in the Battle of Puebla. On May 5th, despite the exhaustion of the troops and meager resources, the 33-year-old general and his army forced the invaders to retreat.
Although the victory of the Battle of Puebla did not win the war, it was an inspirational example of how the Mexicans were strong enough to fight against all odds. It’s a popular misconception that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day – – but it’s not – – that date is September 16.
Although Cinco de Mayo was a notable day in Mexican history, it is not a nationally recognized holiday in Mexico and is not widely celebrated there, the exception is the city of Puebla. In fact, the largest and most popular celebrations of Cinco de Mayo take place in the United States, where the holiday also serves as an opportunity to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture. Much like we celebrate Irish culture during St. Patrick’s Day and German culture during Oktoberfest or Chinese culture during Chinese New Year.
Although the victory of the Battle of Puebla did not win the war, it was an inspirational example of how the Mexicans were strong enough to fight against all odds. It’s a popular misconception that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day – – but it’s not – – that date is September 16.
Although Cinco de Mayo was a notable day in Mexican history, it is not a nationally recognized holiday in Mexico and is not widely celebrated there, the exception is the city of Puebla. In fact, the largest and most popular celebrations of Cinco de Mayo take place in the United States, where the holiday also serves as an opportunity to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture. Much like we celebrate Irish culture during St. Patrick’s Day and German culture during Oktoberfest or Chinese culture during Chinese New Year.
It’s just plain fun to celebrate.
Here’s what we’re doing today.
1. Making a super, simple pinata.
Seriously. So easy, you have everything you need!
Nothing stopping you from celebrating. 🙂
I’m planning on using a large grocery bag this year and filling it with leftover Easter candy! haha (Who cares if there are bunnies in our pinata!?) We’re going to invite the neighbor kids to help us break it. (This year I am going to have rules and a blindfold. There were some close calls last year!)
2. Make some fake fried ice-cream.
Again, so easy you probably have everything you need in your house right now!
3. Making some Key Lime Pie Margaritas for the adults!
YUM!
4. Super Nachos for dinner. These are amazing and also simple!
So good!
5. Some Sombraro Cookies to give away to the neighbors
(since we’re having fried ice-cream!)
6. Making Cascarones.
(FYI: Cascarones (the word means “eggshells” in Spanish) are used for fiestas and other celebrations in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Getting hit with a cascarone is supposed to bring good luck. 🙂 )
I’ve been wanting to make these with the kiddos for a while and today seems like a perfect day. Here’s an awesome tutorial from Dream a Little Bigger.
(image from here)
7. I can’t wait to try this Cilantro, Lime Rice from Skinny Taste.
But I’m using brown rice. And coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. Mmmm, coconut, cilantro, lime rice. That just sounds amazing to me!
(image from here)
Some extras….
How cute are these FREE printables from TomKat Studios.
She has a matching invitation on that page too!
And how to make a fiesta garland!
(images from here)
I feel very predictable because most of what we’re going to do are variations of what we’ve done the last few years.
Oh well, I guess that’s exactly how family traditions are made.
Hopefully when my kids are teenagers they’ll still be making pinatas out of grocery bags and left-over Easter candy since “it’s tradition!” haha
🙂
A fun weird tradition. Making it our own. That’s what it’s all about!
FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO, FOLKS!
Go celebrate. Have a fiesta (or a siesta)
What ever floats your boat! 🙂
Great ideas! We made a beautiful bird pinata when our daughter was about 4, and when we had the party and the kids started bashing it with a bat, she went to a corner and sobbed. 🙂 Thanks for reminding me of the cilantro lime rice. I have that recipe but haven’t made it for a while.
Awesome! I love that you have annual traditions for Cinco de Mayo! Thanks for including cascarones. Such fun! 🙂