HOLIDAYS, TIME ZONES AND OFFICE HOURS IN MEXICO

Choose One: Holidays, Time & Zones, Office Hours

Holidays

January 1 (New Year's); February 5 (Promulgation of the Mexican Constitution);
March 21 (Birthday of Benito Juarez - Past President of Mexico); Maundy Thursday
& Good Friday (in Holy Week, many offices close by Wednesday afternoon and
many close all that week); May 1 (Labor Day) ; May 5 (Victory General Zaragosa); 
September 16 (Independence Day); October 12 (Columbus Day); November 2 (All
saint's Day); November 20 (Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution); December 12
(Our Lady of Guadalupe Day); December 25 (Christmas Day). The day for the
President's Annual Address to the Nation is not an official holiday but many
offices do close.

May 5th explanation ( http://latino.sscnet.ucla.edu/demo/cinco.html )

Time & Zones of Mexico

Mexico has four time zones. They are: First -The Eastern Standard Time Zone
which covers Quintana Roo (-5:00 GMT); Second - (Subtract one hour from
the EST), this includes all of the country except the first, third and fourth zones
(-6:00 GMT); Third (subtract two hours from the EST), this includes the states
of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua and Nayarit (-7:00 GMT);
and the Fourth (subtract three hours from the EST), this includes the states of
Baja California (-8:00 GMT)

During the winter months the central and southern parts of Mexico are one
hour later than the northern portion. During the summer, they are two hours
later than the northern portion.

See: http://www.hilink.com.au/times/mexico.html (Time Zones for Mexico)

For "Time & Zones of Latin America" see elsewhere on this website.

For "Time & Zones of the World" see elsewhere on this website.

Office Hours and Store Hours

Office hours in Mexico are normally 9 a.m to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. (some places until 6:30 p.m.) A lunch brake is taken from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. In the larger cities it is possible to see people come to work as early as 7 or 8 am and stay as late as 7 or 8 p.m.

Store hours in Mexico are normally 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is common to see stores open until 8 or 9 p.m.. In the smaller villages of Mexico (outside the metropolitan areas) it is common to see stores close at sundown (just before or just after).