This weekend we will observe a century-old tradition as we turn back our clocks at 2 a.m. on Sunday to observe Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time, abbreviated as DST, begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The beginning and ending dates are set by law through the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which standardized DST as we know it today. (Although the end of DST was adjusted in 2007 to push past Halloween. That was done, in part, so children could have more daylight for trick-or-treating.)

It wasn’t always this way. Communities used to set their own times using the sun. Standard time didn’t become an issue until the late 19th century. 

That’s when railroads began moving people faster than ever before.

How railroads changed time

John Grabowski, the retired Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor in History at Case Western Reserve University, told a university publication: Railroads “could not work effectively or safely with the multiple local times spread across the nation — nearby communities would set their clocks to their own sunrise, noon and sunset.”   

In 1918, the United States established Daylight Saving Time and standard time zones with the Standard Time Act. But the Daylight Saving Time part of the law was just a wartime measure. It was meant to add more daylight and conserve resources during World War I. It ended after just seven months.

DST came back again for World War II, ending when the war ended in 1945. It didn’t return until the Uniform Act of 1966. 

Love Cleveland? So do we! Explore more things to do in Cleveland.

Under the Uniform Time Act, the U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the observance of Daylight Saving Time. States may choose to exempt themselves from observing Daylight Saving Time, as Arizona and Hawaii have, by state law. But states do not have the authority to choose to be on permanent Daylight Saving Time. 

There have been efforts in recent years to put an end to Daylight Saving Time, but none have advanced in Congress. 

Now Daylight Saving Time is used in more than 70 countries. The beginning and end dates vary from one country to another.

Here in Ohio, we should turn our clocks back on Sunday at 2 a.m. For most of us, the change will happen automatically on our digital devices. For folks with analog timepieces (and those digital clocks on microwaves and stoves), experts suggest you change your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night.