Mexican holidays are big days for Mexican restaurants around the world, including Los Reyes Street Tacos here in Derry, NH! Tomorrow, September 16th, is Mexico’s Independence Day, which is an important day for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans alike. However, many people in the United States don’t know much about this significant date in Mexico’s history.
Join us to find out what you’re celebrating when you head to your favorite Mexican restaurants this Mexican Independence Day.
It’s not Cinco de Mayo.
If you thought Cinco de Mayo was Mexican Independence Day, you’re not alone. According to a 2020 survey from YouGov, 41% of Americans think Mexican Independence Day is on May 5th. However, as we explained previously, Cinco de Mayo celebrates a different event that happened over 40 years after the end of the Mexican War of Independence.
The date marks the beginning of the war.
If you read our blog from May, you know that the Mexican War of Independence lasted almost exactly 11 years, from September 16, 1810, to September 27, 1821. Although the war went on for over a decade, Independence Day commemorates the day it began. The event that triggered the war was the “Cry of Dolores,” a call to arms from the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Father Hidalgo rang his church bell in the town of Dolores and gave his Independence Cry on September 16, 1810.
The celebration starts today.
As you might expect, the celebration in Mexico is a big event. In fact, it starts tonight, September 15th. At 11 PM, the president of Mexico will re-enact the Cry of Dolores on the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City. Every year, to kick off the Independence Day celebration, the president rings the same bell Father Hidalgo rang in 1810 and reads out the names of all the heroes who gave their lives for Mexican independence. Tomorrow, on Independence Day, there will be parades, fireworks displays, and—of course—plenty of food.
The Mexican flag commemorates the War of Independence.
The Mexican War of Independence also introduced the Mexican flag as we know it today. It was designed after the independence of the Mexican Empire was declared in 1821. The green stripe on the left represents the independence movement. The red stripe on the right represents both the Spanish who helped the cause and the blood spilled to gain Mexico its independence. In the center, the white background symbolizes Catholicism, while the eagle holding a serpent on a cactus symbolizes the pre-Hispanic Aztec empire.
