To the average American, what is Cinco de Mayo about? Some might say it is a celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day, but that day is not until September. Some suggest it is a celebration of Mexican culture, but is that what the typical American partier is thinking? Most Americans have come to admit that Cinco de Mayo is seen in the same light as Mardi Gras, with a bottle of beer in their hands, partying to all hours of the night. America’s product marketers have seized the occasion and now promote the 5th of May as a two-week bacchanal of beer, tequila, chips and salsa. One beer company president reported that the popularity of Cinco de Mayo has really allowed their company to get a jump-start on the summer beer-selling season.
How incredibly disheartening to live in a nation that twists a particular day on the calendar to become a celebrated reason for drinking beer and liquor and partying themselves into an inebriated daze! May we follow God’s commands: “test all things” (1 Th. 5:21); “abstain” (1 Pet. 2:11); “do no evil…do what is honorable” (2 Cor. 13:7); “holy in all conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15).