The popular Mexican holiday Cinco De Mayo is fast approaching. For many it's a time to drink and eat lots of food. However, many people don't know the truth about the holiday. These are five facts that you may not know about the popular Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo:

5. Not a federal holiday in Mexico

The Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo is not a federally recognized holiday in Mexico. It's only a low-key holiday outside of the United States, Puebla, and Veracruz. In the Mexican cities of Puebla and Veracruz, Cinco de Mayo is a major state holiday and is celebrated with parades, festivals and reenactments.

4. Largest Cinco de Mayo party is in Los Angeles

People all over the United States celebrate the Mexican holiday but the largest celebration is in Los Angeles, California. Other cities that throw large celebrations include Denver, Phoenix, Houston and New York.

3. Roosevelt helped popularize the Mexican holiday in the U.S.

President Roosevelt was the driving force behind making Cinco de Mayo a popular holiday in America. It gained popularity after President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the "Good Neighbor Policy" in 1933, which aimed to improve relations with governments in Latin America.

2. Chihuahua races are a part of one Cinco de Mayo celebration

Different parts of the country and even the world celebrate the Mexican holiday in very unique ways.

Folks in Chandler, Arizona hold a Chihuahua race.

1. Not Mexico's version of Independence Day

Cinco de Mayo is not a celebration of independence. It's a victory celebration in honor of Mexico's victory at the Battle of Puebla, which took place on May 5, 1862. Mexico was not expected to win, as they were outnumbered by French forces.

The victory became a point of pride for Mexico.

While the Mexican Army won the battle at Puebla, the French ended up winning the war and controlled the region for five years. Napolean III wanted to control Puebla so he could lend aid to the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, with the hope that America would be divided and weak.

The Mexican celebration continues to be a popular holiday among those in the United States. However, people are not paying attention to what this holiday is really about and believe it is similar to our Fourth of July celebrations. While there are probably a lot more, these are five facts that you probably did not know about the popular holiday Cinco de Mayo. I hope you have a wonderful Cinco de Mayo.