Happy Cinco de Mayo! If you're like millions of Americans, you're excited for margaritas, guacamole -- Americans eat 87.3 million pounds of avocados during Cinco de Mayo -- maybe a big party.

But in Mexico, do you know what they're doing? Not much. 

It's a major myth that Mexicans celebrate Cinco de Mayo the way we do in America. Here are 5 Cinco de Mayo myths to educate your friends over your tacos and tequila.

MYTH 1. Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day.

Mexico's Independence Day is the country's most important holiday, but it's not on Cinco de Mayo (May 5). It's on Sept. 16. On Sept. 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo told his followers to take up arms and overthrow the Spanish.

But by the 1860s, Mexico was dealing with another foreign regime -- the puppet government of Napoleon III of France. Napoleon wanted to ensure European access to Latin American markets, not to mention Mexican silver.

On May 5, 1862, the French attacked the Mexican Republican garrison in the city of Puebla. The Mexican forces defeated the French, which was a big deal, but the war itself raged on another seven years.  

MYTH 2. Everyone celebrates Cinco de Mayo in Mexico.

Puebla celebrates Cinco de Mayo with parades and a re-enactment of the battle, and Mexico City does have an event. But other than that, Mexicans do not make a big deal out of Cinco de Mayo.

MYTH 3. The biggest Cinco de Mayo event is in Mexico.

Neither Mexico City nor Puebla have the biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration. The biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration out there is in Los Angeles, California. Fiesta Broadway is a multi-day festival with over 300,000 attendees in Downtown LA. Even though it's considered the largest Cinco de Mayo event in the world, it's always held on the last Sunday in April. 

MYTH 4. Everyone drinks margaritas on Cinco de Mayo. 

Americans love margaritas. A survey by Nielsen last year found the margarita was the most popular cocktail in the U.S. (60 percent), and tequila was the favorite liquor base for cocktails (44 percent). So Cinco de Mayo is a great excuse to drink one. 

Where Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Mexico, however, people don't drink large amounts of margaritas. They drink aguas frescas. It's a non-alcoholic drink often made with fresh fruit, maybe some herbs or spices and sugar water.

MYTH 5. Cinco de Mayo is just a marketing holiday.

Certainly marketers take full advantage of Cinco de Mayo, but to say the holiday is just about marketing is a bit simplistic.

Southern California began celebrating Cinco de Mayo in 1863 as a show of solidarity with Mexicans over French rule (historically, California had only been under American governance for almost two decades). Those celebrations continued into the 20th century to celebrate Mexican identity.

Then in the 1960s, celebrations grew as part of the "Chicano" rights movement in the U.S., particularly in California.