Cinco De Mayo!

Article by Jody Geisel

You may already know that Cinco de Mayo means 5th of May in Spanish. It is a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of a battle that took place between the Mexicans and the French in 1862.
Learning new things is always fun. Here are a few interesting things I learned about Cinco de Mayo traditions and celebrations.

* The largest Cinco de Mayo event in the world is held in Los Angeles, California where more than 600,000 people celebrate with music and food.
* Popular dishes to eat on Cinco de Mayo include tortillas, rice, guacamole and salsa.
* The most interesting bit of information I learned was that Americans eat about 81 million tons of avocados during Cinco de Mayo (That is a lot of avacados!).

When I was a young girl, I absolutely loved making tissue paper flowers! Making colorful paper flowers is a tradition in Mexico on Cinco de Mayo. They are very pretty and easy to make.

You will need:

-colored tissue paper
-pipe cleaners
-string

* Cut between 5-8 sheets of tissue paper into rectangles.
* Fold them like a fan or accordion and staple together in the middle.
* Pull each sheet up from one side and then do the other side.
* Everything will meet up in the middle to form a crinkled flower.
* Keep going until you have the size and amount of flowers you want. You can tie them with a string or put a pipe cleaner in them. They are very festive. Enjoy!

Have you ever seen the Mexican Hat Dance? Click the link to have a look and give it a try!

Want to celebrate? Click here for a list of events and festivals celebrating Cinco de Mayo!

Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo!

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