Action shot. And notice the bean happily oblivious and playing in a mud / straw pile where we just planted grass seed. Nice.
I do love holidays. Even holidays that no one else celebrates. I think maybe it’s the teacher in me. I don’t know. I guess since I’m an ESL teacher, I especially like to celebrate days like Cinco de Mayo. Although, not even my Mexican students celebrate it. It’s more of an American holiday, it would seem. I looked up why. Here’s what I found…..
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.
OK, so there’s the history lesson and here’s what we did at our house.
The bird loves projects as much as I love holidays, so this piñata was PERFECT. I saw the idea here, at Somewhat Simple. It was so easy and mess free. I cut the strips of tissue paper and put them in a pile for her and let her have at it. She glued them to a brown paper lunch bag. She was hysterically specific about where she placed each piece. I filled it with candy and tied it to a tree. She thought it was great. A few neighbors helped us break it – because a piñata is better with friends. Cute and fun. 
The bean trying to eating a glue stick.
Baseball bat works better than golf club.
I love how girly she looks in this picture. And a second later she busted it open. 
Enjoying the bounty.
You are the most fun, creative mom ever. Thanks for setting the bar so high 🙂