Daylight Saving Time, also known as DST, is when we set our clocks forward one hour. In the United States, Daylight Saving Time starts on the second Sunday in March and goes back to STANDARD time on the first Sunday in November. “Spring Forward” and “Fall Back” help people remember whether to set their clocks forward or back.

We do not save any daylight with this change. We simply move time around so that we have one less hour of daylight in the morning and one more hour of daylight in the evening.

DST began to CONSERVE fuel and electricity during the first World War. Germany and Austria instituted it in 1916. Several more countries joined, with the USA adopting DST in 1918. But after the war ended, the United States went back to standard time. When the United States joined World War II in 1942, President Roosevelt reinstituted DST. After the war ended, some states continued to use DST while others did not. That led to confusion. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act which standardized Daylight Saving Time across the country.

Daylight Saving Time remains a CONTROVERSIAL concept. As of 2021, all the US, except the MAJORITY of Arizona* and all of Hawaii, follow DST, but many states want to change it. Currently, most of North America and Europe follow DST while most of Asia, Africa, and South America do not.

What will happen next? Only TIME WILL TELL!

©Barbara Ann Mojica, a.k.a. Little Miss HISTORY