We all know about Cinco de Mayo on the 5th of May, but March also has a pretty cool holiday (even if it is unofficial or made-up) known as Cinco de Marcho. This holiday has been around since 2007 and is celebrated annually on March 5. It was created to encourage people to get ready for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Cinco de Marcho marks the beginning of a 12-day period when “people train their livers for drinking huge amounts of alcohol on St. Patrick’s Day.”
How this day came into being, goes something like this…
First off, Cinco de Marcho is a made-up holiday — it is the invention of a man who goes by the name “Carlos Fantastico,” but whose true identity remains a mystery. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here’s the story:
In 2007, while dining at a Mexican restaurant, Fantastico was enjoying a margarita and happened to notice the date. It was March 5. A thought came to him — he was at a Mexican restaurant enjoying a Mexican drink, but the decor around him was green St. Patrick’s Day was less than a fortnight away. He imagined a holiday that would celebrate the best of both cultures, and thus, the idea for Cinco de Marcho was born; a holiday with a Mexican name, celebrating the drunken jubilance associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
So today is widely celebrated by those who are not regular or heavy drinkers, so as to ease themselves into the demands of St. Patrick’s Day. Even though Cinco de Marcho is a celebration of drinking, it’s always advisable to drink safely and in moderation.
Cinco de Marcho isn’t about excessive drinking — it could be considered as training for light drinkers, and it should be a celebration of finding your limits. Let the countdown to St. Paddy’s Day begin….
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