Mexico has a lot of holidays. Some of them are Catholic, but most of them are national pride. Like our Presidents' Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day - which few Americans truly recognize or celebrate - Mexicans have a handful of holidays for which they get a day off of work and school but don't really understand what or why they're celebrating.
February 5 is Mexico's Constitution Day, celebrating the day in 1917 when the current, democratic, constitution was finalized. This was a big deal, bc it happened over 100 years after declaring independence from Spain and also 7 years after Mexico's revolutionary war started. They had a constitution-like document before that, but it strongly favored corrupt governments and encouraged corruption within the catholic church and systematic racism. The articles 3, 7, and 13 provide for public education, freedom of the press, and public courts - freedoms that Americans had from their bill of rights.
This is the first year that Mexico is celebrating all of their "bank holidays" on Mondays, to give workers and students a 3-day weekend rather than a random day off. The fact that Feb. 5 is a Friday this year, and they could get a 3-day weekend while also celebrating on the actual day, was apparently lost on the Mexicans.
check out this wiki link for more info on the constitution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Mexico
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