United States — Time & Holidays
The United States spans several time zones, from Eastern Time (around UTC−5) to Hawaii (UTC−10), and most of the country observes daylight saving. The clock below shows Eastern Time.
National & Public Holidays
| Date | Holiday | What it marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day Fixed | The start of the year. |
| 3rd Mon Jan | Martin Luther King Jr. Day Movable | Honours the civil rights leader. |
| Last Mon May | Memorial Day Movable | Remembers those who died in military service. |
| 19 June | Juneteenth Fixed | Commemorates the end of slavery. |
| 4 July | Independence Day Fixed | Independence declared in 1776 — fireworks nationwide. |
| 1st Mon Sep | Labor Day Movable | Honours the American worker. |
| 11 November | Veterans Day Fixed | Honours military veterans. |
| 4th Thu Nov | Thanksgiving Movable | A national day of gratitude and family. |
| 25 December | Christmas Day Fixed | The principal winter holiday. |
Time and holidays in the United States
The United States is wide enough to stretch across many hours of daylight, so unlike single-zone nations it keeps several clocks. The mainland alone runs through Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time, with Eastern around five hours behind Coordinated Universal Time in winter, while Alaska and Hawaii sit further west, Hawaii at UTC−10. Most of the country also observes daylight saving, moving clocks forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November, although a few places such as most of Arizona and all of Hawaii opt out. The live clock on this page shows Eastern Time as a representative example.
Fixed dates and weekday holidays
The federal holiday calendar mixes fixed dates with holidays tied to a weekday. Fixed ones include New Year's Day, Juneteenth on the nineteenth of June, Independence Day on the fourth of July, Veterans Day on the eleventh of November and Christmas Day. Independence Day is the most exuberant, marked nationwide with fireworks and outdoor gatherings at the height of summer. Several others always land on a Monday or Thursday to create long weekends: Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday of January, Memorial Day on the last Monday of May, Labor Day on the first Monday of September, and the much-loved Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. Because the country spans so many zones and most of it changes its clocks twice a year, the difference between the United States and the rest of the world shifts with the seasons, which the live clock and the time-zone converter both handle for you.