Clocks Go Forward One Hour On Sunday

Ever hear that expression it’s always darkest before the dawn? For the next few weeks, it will be. That’s because we’re making the change to Daylight Saving Time, the real first rite of spring.

It’s the weekend we spring ahead an hour, starting at 2am Sunday morning. Unless you’re a night owl, you should change your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night.

You’ll lose an hour of sleep and it will be darker in the mornings for a bit, but the sun will still be out when you leave work, a nice change from the dreariness of winter.

This regular shift used to take place on the first Sunday in April, but times have literally changed. The U.S. made the move to an earlier switch in 2007, as a means to save energy. Whether that actually helped is a matter of debate.

But Ontario and most of the rest of the country followed suit, in order to be in step with our neighbour to the south and prevent massive confusion for businesses, travellers and even TV watchers.

The time switch is still a matter of controversy. Standard Time was originally created by Canada’s own Sir Sandford Fleming to allow for uniform train schedules. Daylight Time originated in Germany and gradually spread to other non-tropical countries.

Only a few pockets of Canada don’t bother with all this back-and-forth movement. Most of Saskatchewan is on Standard Time all year, and so are a few areas in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

We’ll gain the hour back on November 8th.

So what gets changed? Your kitchen and bedroom clocks are obvious, and many of the more modern electronic devices – like your computer, your cell phone and and your digital satellite receivers – make the switch automatically. But there are a few other machines people always seem to forget about. Among them:

• Microwave ovens,
• VCR or DVD,
• The clock in your car,
• Any automatic timer lights,
• Your watch.

And it’s becoming something of a cliche, but you’re also supposed to use the occasion to change the batteries in your smoke alarm. Even though they’re rarely used, they don’t last forever.

Thankfully, the same holds true for winter and this is among the first signs that it’s almost over.

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