Today is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and other parts of the world as Cico de Mayo (the 5th of May). It is a holiday that has come to have two meanings. There is a link at the end of this e-mail to more information about Cinco de Mayo.
The original significance of this date was the observance of the anniversary of a day in the 1800s when a Mexican army defeated a French army of far superior numbers. In the US and other parts of the world (including Mexico) more and more people observe this holiday as a celebration of Mexican, and I would say Latin American, culture.
I wish we would do more of this, finding ways of associating holidays with spiritualy uplifting ideas.
A few years ago my peacemaker friend, Jim Douglass, reminded us that even though September 11th will forever be associated with the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001, there is another important event associated with that date.
On September 11th, 1906, Mahatma Gandhi launched his first non-violent campaign in South Africa.
I think a beautiful way of honoring those who died on September 11, 2001, is to remind ourselves of the Gandhi event and the call to find non-violent ways to resolve our differences.
Here's a link to more information about Cinco de Mayo:
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