Have you noticed how Daylight Savings is like a holiday this year? No one is grumbling about losing an hour of sleep. Or about having to change their clocks. Instead, everyone I talked to this week was giddy at the thought of longer days.
The Real New Year
DST begins at the same time that marks, for many, the one-year anniversary of the pandemic’s impact on the workplace. Friday, March 13, 2020, was the last “normal” day in the office for me. Mere coincidence? I think not. In fact, I dare say it’s auspicious. We’re on the verge of more daylight, warmer temps, and increased immunity. It’s all good. Except for the savings vs. saving thing, which irks me.
That’s because today is like the real New Year’s Day for 2021. While we officially said goodbye to 2020 over three months ago, it didn’t want to budge. In January, our country had a record number of covid deaths and witnessed a deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Not exactly a Happy New Year. In February, winter storms wreaked havoc across much of the country while the vaccine rollout limped along. Different year, same sh**. But now it’s March and things finally seem to be looking up.
Savings vs. Saving
Everyone I know calls it Daylight Savings Time. But that’s not grammatically correct. It’s Daylight Saving Time. To me, that’s like nails on a chalkboard. I’ve tried to say it that way, but it sounds so wrong. As a lawyer, it makes me think of the term “Savings Clause,” which is a clause in a statute exempting something from its operation or a clause in a contract providing that the rest will stand if part is held invalid. When I Googled it, Merriam-Webster says it’s “Saving Clause.” What??? (Black’s Law Dictionary also says “Saving Clause.”) I felt a little better when, at the end of the M-W definition, I saw “–called also savings clause.” But what do you call a bank account for stashing away money for the future? A savings account or a saving account? I rest my case.
Happy Daylight Savings Time!