Saving Daylight

by Lady Jess

The History of Daylight Savings Time

Benjamin Franklin first came up with the idea of Daylight Saving Time in his humorous essay "An Economical Project." Then British man named William Willett (1865-1915) decided people were wasting daylight and got the idea of adding eighty minutes to the clock. Robert Pearce introduced a Bill in the British House of Commons that required people to change their clocks. However, the bill was widely rejected, especially by farmers, who wanted more daylight in the morning. Willett died before he was able to see his idea become a reality.

On May 17, 1916, Willett’s idea was accepted as a means to save fuel and an Act was passed in the United States that required people to change their clocks ahead. People didn’t respond well to this; there was a lot of confusion, and many states refused to observe a "Daylight Saving Time." In 1917, Congress passed an Act that said U.S. time should move ahead one hour on the last Sunday in March and be put back one hour on the last Sunday in October. This was later repealed, but during World War I, nearly every country in Europe adopted the idea of putting the clock forward one hour in order to save fuel for lighting and heating. The United States only began to recognize these benefits during the World War II, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt established a year-round Daylight Saving Time called "War Time." From 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law about Daylight Saving Time and states were free to choose whether they wanted to observe it as well as when they wanted it to begin and end.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act into law, and there was unity across the United States as to when clocks changed. The Act said that Daylight Saving Time would start on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday in October. However, any state that wanted to remain on standard time year round could pass a state law to that effect.

In 1972, the federal law was revised so that states that had more than one time zone could exempt part of the state in one time zone while the other part would observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation stating that Daylight Saving Time should begin on the first Sunday in April instead of the last, in order to save even more energy.

About 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time in at least a part of their country. If you would like to find out more about the countries that observe Daylight Saving Time and when, see http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html.

The next time you're changing your clocks for Daylight Saving Time, just remember that it's not just trying to mess up your schedule -- its purpose is to save energy; and make sure your family checks out those smoke detectors at the same time!

Each year, Daylight Saving Time begins for most of the United States in the middle of the night -- at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. The clocks go back to standard time at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. The time of the changeover was chosen because most people are home at that hour and because it prevents any confusion that might arise if midnight were time of the change. In the spring, clocks "spring forward" from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. In the fall, they "fall back" from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. When the clocks change back to standard time, many bars and restaurants choose to stay open and serve customers for an extra hour.

Some states and territories in the U.S. do not observe Daylight Saving Time. They are Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the state of Arizona (except for the Navajo Indian Reservation). It is also widely observed in Europe, though it often does not begin or end on the same day there as in the U.S.

Daylight Saving is also called "Summer Time" in many places in the world. It was created to make better use of daylight by changing our clocks during the summer months so that we get an extra hour of daylight in the evening. Some countries, especially those near the equator, do not usually change their clocks. This is because day and night there are about the same length (12 hours). Just about everywhere else on Earth, there is more daylight in the summer.

Another benefit of Daylight Saving Time is that it saves energy. It "makes" the sun "set" one hour later, causing people to use less electricity for lighting and appliances during the evening hours. As a result, we cut back on the amount of energy we use each day.

In the United States, the start and end of Daylight Saving Time are also times when firefighters encourage people to check and change the battery in their smoke detectors. It is easier to remember to do this by associating it with this time of year.

Here is a chart that tells you when to spring or fall in the next few years.

2008 March 9 November 2
2009 March 8 November 1
2010 March 14 November 7
2011 March 13 November 6
2012 March 11 November 4
2013 March 10 November 3
2014 March 9 November 2
2015 March 8 November 1

Here's a fun trivia question for you. Prior to the invention of the clock, how did people observe time at night?

The Bible says in Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time."

We need to make the most of the daylight hours we have. Now that we're going into winter, we need to redeem the time and do all we can for the Lord during these months.

One funny things our pastor does when we 'fall back' is that he doesn't have the church call to remind them of the time change like he usually does when we 'spring forward'. It's comical to see people show up for Sunday School that don't usually come and for those who always arrive late, to be early. ;O)