Today is Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo (which means the fifth of May) is one of two days that celebrates the independence of Mexico. Although Mexico’s official independence day is el Dieciseis de Septiembre (September 16^th), Cinco de Mayo is also considered a day of great importance. On this day, a vastly outnumbered, untrained, and poorly equipped Mexican people defeated a much stronger and more powerful French army.

Today, it has become a popular holiday in the United States. People mark the day with fiestas, parades, mariachi music, piñatas, and of course, lots of great-tasting Mexican food. At its heart, Cinco de Mayo remains a day to celebrate the Mexican people’s courage, culture, and freedom.

While holidays like Cinco de Mayo are wonderful opportunities to remember important events in a nation’s history, they also are a great reason to have a party and have fun!

Ezra knew that. The people of Israel had just finished rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem. Now it was time to restore the people’s faith, so Ezra and others spent several hours reading God’s Word to the people. The people wept as they heard God’s Word, realizing how they had strayed from obeying God. Yet Ezra reminded them: “Don’t be sad! Now is the time to celebrate.” Ezra sent the people home to “celebrate with great joy” because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

Some people like to think that God is all about dos and don’ts and is just looking for ways to stop us from having fun. That couldn’t be further from the truth. God wants us to celebrate and to be joyful. That’s why he has commanded his people to observe certain holidays and to party!

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of choice foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10).

To Do

Throw a party for Cinco de Mayo and include God in your party by thanking him for the courage and the freedom that he gives to you.

Also on this day . . .

1891—Carnegie Hall opens in New York City with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.

1956—Jim Bailey became the U.S. first runner to break the four-minute mile. He was clocked at 3:58.5.

1961—Alan Shepard piloted “Freedom 7” to become the first American in space.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.