Daylight Savings Time

Have you ever heard the expression to “spring forward” or “fall back” related to the time change called Daylight Savings Time? Personally, I like it when we have an extra hour of daylight in the spring and summer months, but I do miss that extra hour of sleep the Sunday that the start of Daylight Savings Time takes place. I know, I get that hour back in the fall, but since it gets dark so much earlier, I feel like I get less done.

The idea for Daylight Savings Time started as a suggestion in an essay written by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. The actual practice of Daylight Savings Time (DTS) was started during World War I by the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Germany as a way to conserve fuel used for artificial light. This practice has continued, also started then stopped in many countries throughout the years to extend the daylight hours during waking time throughout the summer months.

Although DST started during WWI in the United States, it has gone through several changes.

• Until 1986, Daylight Savings Time began in the United States on the last Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.
• In 1986, Congress passed a law that moved the start date of DST to the first Sunday in April but left the end date the last Sunday in October. The law went into effect in 1987.
• In 2007, the start of DTS moved to the second Sunday of March and the end date was changed to the first Sunday in November.

Of course, with every rule there are exceptions.

• Of the 50 US states, Hawaii and Arizona do not observe DST.
  • That said, the Navajo Nation, located in Arizona, does observe DST,
• American territories including Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not observe DTS,

There are other countries around the world that observe some form of DTS, as well as some countries that have flipped back and forth between observing and discontinuing DTS over the years.

Spanish speaking countries that observe Daylight Savings Time include:

• Cuba – starts the third Sunday in October; ends the third Sunday in February
• Honduras – starts May 7^th; ends in August
• Mexico (except Sonora) – starts the first Sunday in April; ends the last Sunday in October
• Chile – starts October 11^th; ends March 29^th
  • Chile delayed the Daylight Savings time change in 1987 due to the Pope’s visit and in 1990 for the Presidential inauguration.
• Paraguay – starts the third Sunday in October; ends the second Sunday in March
• Uruguay – starts the first Sunday in October; ends the second Sunday in March
• Spain – starts the last Sunday in March; ends the last Sunday in October

So if you live in a state or country that observes DTS, make sure you know when to “spring forward” or “fall back” so you can change your clocks to the proper time.

Source credit:

https://www.statista.com/chart/24473/countries-changing-clock-daylight-savings/

http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daylight-Saving-Time

https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/daylight-savings-time-state-legislation.aspx