The 154th anniversary of the Cinco de Mayo holiday is set for Thursday, and revelers across the globe are breathless with anticipation.

For many it's a time to eat, drink and be merry. Still, others see it as a time calling for spirited reflection, a reason to pause and give thanks for the way Mexican natives were able to hold off a much more equipped Napoleon III-controlled French army back in 1862 during the Battle of Puebla, preserving their homeland for what it largely remains.

"The French army was about four days from Mexico City when they had to go through the town of Puebla, and as it happened, they didn't make it," said David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the School of Medicine at UCLA.

Celebrations are Boundless

It was a sight to behold and has become a time to remember. All across Mexico, reenactments of the history-making battle often play out on the holiday. But no matter how you chose to celebrate or otherwise mark the occasion of Cinco de Mayo, it figures to be a festive gathering. The party-friendly atmosphere now commonly associated with the date goes all the way back to more than half a century.

"The 1970s and '80s really is when the U.S. beer companies began to kind of look for ways to target the Spanish-speaking population," said Jose Alamillo, a professor of Chicano studies at California State University.

Still, the day's unique history and widespread appeal from Mexico to the U.S. put it in a class all of its own.

A Day Like No Other

Alamillo reflects he was born in Mexico, but didn't learn of the day's historical significance until after he moved to the U.S. at 8-years-old.

"I thought, 'Why would I hear about it in a classroom in the U.S., but my parents and uncles never heard about it in their schooling in Mexico?'" he said. "It's not a Mexican holiday, not an American holiday, but an American-Mexican holiday."

Here is a list of Cinco de Mayo greetings quotes made famous over the years:

1. "Cinco de Mayo has come to represent a celebration of the contributions that Mexican Americans and all Hispanics have made to America."
~ Joe Baca

2. "If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost."
~ Aristotle

3. "People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote -- a very different thing."
~ Walter H. Judd

4. Freedom is when the people can speak, democracy is when the government listens."
~ Alastair Farrugia

5. "Honor to the soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as he best can, the same cause."
~ Abraham Lincoln