It appears that a Facebook event has been created declaring Saturday, April 2 as “Cinco de State”, a pathetic attempt to create a “drinking holiday” in the mold of State Patty’s Day.  Last year was the first attempt at creating this “holiday” that tells participants to “get your sombreros, mustaches, ponchos and margaritas ready, should be a good day no matter where you drink”, and I agree with Chase Tralka’s assessment that the idea, for lack of a better term, sucks.

Some might point to the fact that the Facebook event has almost 2,000 “attendees” (what does that even mean in this situation?) to claim it could be gaining some legitimacy. A simple glance at the wall of this event will tell you all you need to know about where Cinco de State stands in the minds of (intelligent) Penn Staters. Some of my favorite comments included:

“It’s Penn State – why do you need a holiday to tell you to drink on a Saturday?”

“This is the dumbest idea ever.”

“This is terrible on all levels.”

“This is so dumb….just celebrate cinco de mayo….you’re butchering a holiday that is fine on its own”

Reading through these and the rest of the comments led me to a few interesting questions. For one, why not celebrate Cinco de Mayo on May 5th? It falls on the Thursday of Finals Week this year, and I’m guessing most who don’t have a final on Friday (and many who do) will be going hard one more time before leaving Happy Valley for a few months.

Another concept I want to question is the idea that students need a “reason” or “excuse” to drink, as is stated multiple times in comments supporting the idea of Cinco de State. Not that I get drunk often, but I do know that if you need motivation to do so in the form of a fake holiday, you’re doing it wrong.

The thing is, the concept of a Mexican-themed party actually sounds fun. Decorate your apartment, put out some nachos, buy some margarita mix, and throw some mariachi music in your usual party playlist. You can still drink as much as you want without declaring it a “holiday”.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, which is that this entire argument could be used to explain why State Patty’s Day has no reason to exist either. And you’re probably right.  But what makes State Patty’s Day special (in the minds of a lot of students, anyway) is that it only comes once a year and has become a major part (for better or worse) of the Penn State experience. It’s unique, and that’s why it’s so popular.

What do you think about Cinco de State? Is anyone actually planning on celebrating it? And, just for fun, how else can we work “state” into the name of a holiday? Comment below.