Despite some misconceptions, Cinco de Mayo does not celebrate Mexican Independence Day, a status the country achieved more than 50 years prior to the events for the holiday, which celebrates a major battlefield victory in 1862 in a war with the French.

Cinco de Mayo — Spanish for “Fifth of May” — commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. In 1861, Mexico President Benito Juárez declared a moratorium on foreign debt payments, frustrating European creditors, indirectly leading to France's invasion of Mexico a year later.

Cinco de Mayo is Monday, May 5. Cinco de Mayo — Spanish for “Fifth of May” — commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.