Every spring and fall, the clocks in the US are changed in almost all states. People that come to the US from other countries may not have Daylight Savings Time (DST) in their countries.

In this article, I hope to provide a tutorial to international students, expats, foreigners and others new to America about DST.

I. What is DST?

DST is a way to change the clock time ahead by one hour (in the spring) or back by one hour (in the fall) to 'save time'. Originally, it’s claimed that this was done for farmers, but nowadays I think it's done more for social reasons. A few being:

1.  Kids will not have to go to school in the dark (especially in fall/winter)

2.  We have more light in the mornings in the winter (coincides with #1)

3.  Kids can 'trick or treat' on Halloween when it's still light out. (They changed DST in 2009 from October to November for this reason.)

4.  It stays bright out later in the summer so we can enjoy the summer weather with longer daylight.

Maybe there are other reasons, but these are my guesses.

II. When do we observe DST?

In the spring - Second Sunday in March at 2am local time.

In the fall - First Sunday in November at 2am local time.

III. How do we observe DST? What do we do?

In the spring at 2am on the second Sunday in March, we should turn our clocks ahead. So instead of it being 2am at 2am it will now be 3am. We lose one hour of time that weekend.

In the fall at 2am on the fist Sunday in November, we should turn our clocks back. So instead of it being 2am at 2am it will now be 1am. We gain one hour of time that weekend.

III. Does one have to do it at 2am?

Well, no, though it will make the alarm clock wake you up at the right time on Sunday if you do! We can do it when we fall asleep the night before so our alarm will wake us up in the morning. We do not have to get up at 2am to change it this way.

IV. If I forget or I’m confused, how do I know the correct time?

There are a few tricks if this is confusing! Breathe a sigh of relief!

Firstly, if you have computers or cell phones, these modern devices can change the time automatically as long as you have set them up to the right time zone. Secondly, turn on the TV news as soon as you get up. Most news stations have a clock somewhere on the screen. When we see this, we can get the right time! After this, remember to manually change all clocks that have times on them. This includes:

1.   Watches

2.  Microwaves/Ovens

3.   Alarm clocks

4.   Clocks in cars

5.   Wrist watches

6.   Any other gadget with a clock/watch on it!

V. How does DST affect our family and friends abroad?

Our friends and family abroad want to call us in the US. We want to call them. But don't forget, though our time has changed, theirs may not have, so keep track of the time by visiting this website and putting in your local current time to compare against where you want to call.

VI. When are the days and dates of DST for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015?

2011:

Spring ahead - March 13

Fall back - November 6

2012:

Spring ahead - March 11

Fall back - November 4

2013:

Spring ahead - March 10

Fall back - November 3

2014:

Spring ahead - March 9

Fall back - November 2

2015:

Spring ahead - March 8

Fall back - November 1

Image Courtesy :www.freedigitalphotos.net

Contributor : winnond

http://authenticjourneys.blogspot.com/

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