This Sunday, March 12, marks the start of Daylight Savings Time when we set our clocks ahead an hour.
Yes, we lose an hour of sleep, but the time for sunset magically will move from 5:46 PM on Saturday to 6:48 PM on Sunday, giving us an extra hour of daylight in the evening. (Conversely, we lose an hour of daylight in the morning because sunrise also moves up an hour, from 6:01 AM on Saturday to 6:59 AM on Sunday.)
Even though Daylight Savings Time has occurred in March for quite a few years, for those of us who grew up when Daylight Savings Time did not begin until mid-April, the earlier start to the Daylight Savings season is a bit jarring.
When Daylight Savings began in April, it was a sure sign that spring was in the air and that summer was around the corner. It also coincided with the start of the Little League season, another harbinger of summer.
But with Daylight Savings now coming in mid-March, when the weather is still chilly, Daylight Savings occurs when the weather is not even remotely spring-like.
Still, we’re happy to have that extra hour of daylight in our evenings. The weather may not be great, but at least it’s bright at 7:00 PM — a signal that although spring may not quite have arrived, winter surely is fading fast.
