Friday Fun Fact: Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated in Mexico—and countries around the world—on Monday. The festive holiday honors Mexican pride and heritage, but it is not Mexico's Independence Day, which is celebrated on September 16.

Instead, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory—under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza—over Napoleon III's French forces in the Battle of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City, on May 5, 1862.