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Memorial Day is observed in the United States on the last Monday of May, so it falls between May 25 and May 31 depending on the year. This page finds the last Monday of May for this year and next, and counts down to the one that comes next. It's a federal holiday, which means government offices, banks, and most schools close, and the long weekend it creates is widely treated as the unofficial opening of summer — barbecues, first beach trips, and all.
For its first century, Memorial Day didn't float at all. It began as Decoration Day, established in 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization, as a day to decorate the graves of Civil War dead with flowers. The chosen date — May 30 — was picked in part because flowers would be in bloom across the country. The name "Memorial Day" gradually replaced "Decoration Day," and after both world wars the observance widened to honor Americans who died in any war. The floating Monday is comparatively recent: the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, which took effect in 1971, moved the holiday to the last Monday of May to create a guaranteed three-day weekend.
Beneath the long weekend, the purpose is solemn: honoring U.S. military personnel who died in service. Cemeteries hold ceremonies, volunteers place flags on graves at national cemeteries like Arlington, and since 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance has asked Americans to pause at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence. It's distinct from Veterans Day on November 11, which honors everyone who has served, living and dead.
Is Memorial Day always on May 30? Not anymore. May 30 was the fixed date from 1868 until 1970. Since 1971 it has been the last Monday of May, so the date moves between May 25 and May 31.
Why do people call it the start of summer? Tradition, mostly — it follows the school year winding down and precedes the summer solstice by a few weeks. The actual first day of summer is the June solstice, and there's a countdown to that too.