Cinco de Mayo.

Today, May 5th, is one of those celebrations that's travelled so far from its origins that most people celebrating it couldn't tell you what it actually commemorates.

And that's kind of the story of Cinco de Mayo in a nutshell.

It's not Mexican Independence Day. That's September 16th. What today actually marks is the Battle of Puebla — May 5th, 1862 — when a smaller, under-resourced Mexican army pulled off a stunning defeat against French imperial forces who were considered virtually unbeatable at the time.

It was a David and Goliath moment. And the underdog won.

Mexico went on to lose the wider war. The French occupied the country for several years after. So it's not a victory celebration in the traditional sense — it's more a commemoration of resilience. Of refusing to fold when the odds are stacked against you.

Ironically, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated far more enthusiastically in the United States than in Mexico itself — where only the state of Puebla marks it as a major public holiday.

Somewhere along the way it became a celebration of Mexican culture broadly — the food, the music, the colour, the community. And honestly, there are worse things to celebrate.