Why (and When) New England Turns Its Clocks Back This Fall

It feels like New Englanders used to take joy in falling back each autumn.

Kids would stay up late to watch New Hampshire natives Charles Rocket, Adam Sandler, or Seth Meyers on “Saturday Night Live.” Adults would stay for an extra round at Yoken’s (or in Boston’s Combat Zone, depending on their lifestyle).

Andover native and longtime “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno once told me he purposely tries to book standup shows on the East Coast for Fallback Weekend, so when he returned to California, he would gain back four hours instead of just three.

But like the clocks twice a year, the tide has turned on Daylight Saving in recent years. As New Englanders become more educated on sunlight as it relates to mental health and wellbeing, the idea of some extra sunshine in the morning meaning the sun setting around 4 in the afternoon seemed less appealing.

So, why do we do it?

Many assume it is to benefit farmers – but this is not so. According to New Hampshire's own Farmer's Alamac, the first World War led to Daylight Saving Time as a coal-conservation effort.

The U.S. government would adopt the concept from England and tried to sell the idea that Americans would be able to get more gardening done to increase the nation’s food supply.

And even then…it was met with resistance. Most notably, from farmers.

After much outcry, Daylight Saving Time was repealed. But then came another World War…and Daylight Savings Time was here to stay.

But the war against playing with time rages on, with more than half the states in the U.S. proposing legislation to end Daylight Saving Time for good.

For now, though, it’s here - and at 2 a.m. on Sunday November 5, 2022, the afternoons will grow dark until the spring. On the flip side...

Here are Eight Great Ways for New Englanders to Spend an Extra Hour:

Name every Wahlberg brother

See how many fires you can extinguish on the Orange Line

Watch half an inning of a Red Sox-Yankees game

Read most of the dumb things Kyrie Irving’s tweeted that morning

Digest a McRib

Try to decipher Bob Dylan’s order at Dunkins

Climb through one Polar Cave (Dads only)

Try to find someone who lives in Newington, New Hampshire