Last Updated on March 10, 2023 8:41 am
It's that time once again to “Spring Forward” as Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend. Officially the changeover occurs at 2:00 am Sunday, March 12, 2023, and will end 2:00 am Sunday, November 5, 2023.
Records show that the phrase “spring forward, fall back” has been in use at least as far back as the early 20th century, according to timeanddate.com. Daylight Saving Time is now used in over 70 countries worldwide and affects over 1 billion people every year.
In the U.S., Daylight Saving Time – or “fast time”, as it was called then – was first introduced in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law to support the war effort during World War I.
For modern times timeanddate.com notes, “In the United States, DST caused widespread confusion from 1945 to 1966 for trains, buses, and the broadcasting industry because states and localities were free to choose when and if they would observe DST. Congress decided to end the confusion and establish the Uniform Time Act of 1966 that stated DST would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. However, states still had the ability to be exempt from DST by passing a local ordinance.
On Monday, August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into law a broad energy bill that extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks beginning in 2007. As a result, Daylight Saving Time now begins three weeks earlier on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
