Public Holidays and Time Zones
Why the same UTC instant can be a holiday in one country and a workday in another — scheduling tips.
Public holidays follow **each country's local calendar**, not one global UTC schedule. Lunar New Year, Eid, Thanksgiving, and national days start at local midnight in their zone. A "global deadline" often slips because one country is still off — that is holiday rules, not a math error.
Typical patterns
- Lunar New Year: mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan — similar dates, different lengths
- United States: federal holidays follow US calendar; states add local days
- Islamic holidays: lunar calendar — Gregorian dates shift yearly
- EU: national days spread across the year per country
Projects and support
- Deadlines: country + local date + time zone
- Never assume a synchronized global holiday — see Global Business Hours Reference for norms
- SLAs should state holiday carry-over rules
- Live local time: Countries
Meetings: International Meetings; regional guides: United States Time Zones Guide, China Time Zone: Beijing Time Nationwide, Middle East Time Zones Guide.