Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Friday, May 02, 2008

The Proper Way To Celebrate Cinco De Mayo

If you're like most people, then you have no idea what Cinco de Mayo celebrates, other than Corona beer.
Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England

In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Any day that celebrates a French defeat is worth lifting a Corona (or a jar of Hellman's.)

May was a particularly bad month for the French Army. On May 14, 1940, the Germans broke through the Ardennes at Sedan, essentially dooming France.

Michael said...

Hmmm. My history isn't so good. When did the French army have a good month?

Unknown said...

*LOL* You're absolutely right! June was even worse. That was the month of Waterloo and the French surrender to the Germans in 1940.