Cinco de Mayo

With our growing Latino population having an ever increasing influence on life in America, it might be helpful to look at the Cinco de Mayo celebration for a moment. It stems from the Mexican defeat of an attempted French invasion intending to take over the country in 1862. It was the last attempt of a foreign country to attack North or South America, and hence, has some significance for all of the Americas. It is not a national holiday in Mexico, but, like St. Patrick's Day, is gaining commercial and national significance in the United States. Folks will be going around saying Feliz Cinco de Mayo, or Happy Cinco de Mayo, without knowing why. Just the thing to do. Dancing, costumes and food will highlight the festivities featured in the media, dissipating somewhat the usual doom and gloom headlines.
We might "baptize" the festivities and see them as a continuation of our Easter celebration of the victory over the powers of darkness. Surely that victory gives us reason to pray with the Psalmist, "Fill me with your praise and I will sing your glory; songs of joy will be on my lips, alleluia." (Ps 70: 8). May we see today's events as gifts to celebrate with songs of praise and joy, hummed quietely to ourselves or reflected in our cheerful interactions with others. Let this day be one of light-heartedness, for our liberation from sin is surely something to shout about from the highest mountains.
Bro. Rene