Public holidays in Mexico

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of holidays and celebrations in Mexico:

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Año nuevo	New Year's Day
January 6	Day of the Holy Kings (Three Wise Men)	Dia de los Santos Reyes	Celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men who they came to see the King (meaning Jesus as a child) and brought gifts for the child. Traditionally, kids receive toys and people buy a pastry called La rosca de reyes. If they bite in the bread and find the mini-doll of Baby Jesus, you must host a party for the Day of Candlemas (February 2). It is not an official holiday.
February 5	Constitution Day	Dia de la Constitucion	Celebrates the proclamation of the "Political Constitution of the Mexican United States of 1917" (law still in effect today).
February 14	Valentine's Day	Día de San Valentín	On this day, traditionally, men give chocolates, flowers, jewelry, dinner and serenade to their special women, as well as to their female friends. It is not an official holiday.
February 24	Flag Day	Día de la Bandera	Adoption of the Mexican flag with the tricolors of green, white, and red with the coat of arms of a golden eagle fighting against a serpent on top of a cactus. Flag Day was implemented by President of Mexico Lázaro Cárdenas in 1937.
March 18	Oil Expropriation	Expropiación Petrolera	President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated foreign-held oil wells to facilitate Mexico's industrial development in 1938. It is not an official holiday.
March 21	Benito Juárez's Birthday	Natalicio de Benito Juárez	Birthday of Benito Juárez, 19th century president and statesman who stood against the French intervention in Mexico. See also Maximilian of Mexico.
April 30	Children's Day	Día del Niño	Mexicans honoring all the children, But most of all celebrates Baby Jesus throughout the country. It is not an official holiday.
May 1	Labour Day	Día del Trabajo	Commemorates all of the workers throughout the country.
May 5	Cinco de Mayo	Batalla de Puebla	Celebrates the victory against French forces in the city of Puebla, on May 5, 1862. Also widely celebrated in the United States. US "celebration" of this Mexican historical event is largely a result of promotions in the US by liquor, beer, and bars/taverns/clubs/restaurants since the 1980s. For many years Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the US promoted Cinco de Mayo as Mexican Independence Day which is actually September 16. Although Mexican citizens feel very proud of the meaning of Cinco de Mayo it is not a national holiday in Mexico, but it is an official holiday in the State of Puebla where the mentioned battle took place.
May 10	Mother's Day	Día de la Madre	Mexicans honoring all the mothers throughout the country. It is not an official holiday.
May 15	Teacher's Day	Día del Maestro	Mexicans honoring all the teachers throughout the country. It is not an official holiday.
May 23	Student's Day	Día del estudiante	Mexicans honoring all the students throughout the country. It is not an official holiday.
Third Sunday of June	Father's Day	Día del Padre	Mexicans honoring all the fathers throughout the country. It is not an official holiday.
September 13	"Boy Heroes" or "Heroic Cadets"	Día de los Niños Heroes	Celebrates the Battle of Chapultepec; an event that marked the War of México against the United States in 1874. There were six teenage military cadets (the Niños Héroes) who died defending Mexico.
September 15	Shout of Dolores	Grito de Dolores	Celebrates the Grito de Dolores, an event that marked the start of the independence war against Spain on the eve of September 16, 1810. It took place at a church chapel in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, led by a creole catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. See also Fiestas Patrias (Mexico).
September 16	Independence Day	Día de la Independencia	Celebrates the anniversary of the Mexican War of Independence against Spain on September 16, 1810. See also Fiestas Patrias (Mexico).
October 12	Columbus Day	Día de la Raza	Commemorates the discovery of America in 1492 by the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus. It is not an official holiday. See also La Raza.
November 1	All Saints' Day (Day of the Dead)	Dia de todos los Santos	Mexicans honor their dead relatives and/or friends (who were less than 18 years of age and unmarried) with candles, food & flower offerings, altars, and pre-Hispanic and Christian rituals. It is not an official holiday.
November 2	All Souls' Day (Day of the Dead)	Dia de los Muertos	Mexicans honor their dead relatives and/or friends (who were more than 18 years of age and married) with candles, food & flower offerings, altars, and pre-Hispanic and Christian rituals. It is not an official holiday.
November 20	Revolution Day	Día de la Revolución	Celebrates the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Observed the third Monday of November, regardless of the date. See also Fiestas Patrias (Mexico).
December 12	Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe	Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe	Celebrates the day that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on Tepeyac hill to the native Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. It is not an official holiday.
December 12-24	The Inns	Las Posadas	Celebrates Joseph and Mary's search for shelter in Bethlehem. Consists of candlelight processions as well as stops at various nativity scenes.
December 24	Christmas Eve	Nochebuena	Celebrates the eve of the nativity of Jesus, as secular winter holiday. The traditional treats for this holiday are tamales and atole or champurrado. Las Posadas are celebrated nine days before Nochebuena, accompanied by a piñata party for the kids and dance music for the adults.
December 25	Christmas	Navidad	Celebrates the nativity of Jesus, also celebrated as secular winter holiday.
December 28	Day of the Innocents	Dia de los Santos Inocentes	On this day, people pull practical jokes on each other. It is equivalent to the U.S. version of April Fools Day (April 1). People must not believe anything that other people say, nor let them borrow any amount of money. If any person has fallen victim of the joke, the person pulling the joke will say ¡Inocente palomita...! (equivalent to saying April Fools!).