Clocks in Bulgaria change to summer daylight saving time at 3am on March 30

On the last Sunday of the month we switch to daylight saving time. This will happen at 03:00 on the night of 29/30 March, when we have to move the hands of the clock an hour forward and we will sleep one hour less. We will return to astronomical time again on 25/26 October 2025.

This year's transition to daylight saving time will occur on the last Sunday of March, specifically from 03:00 AM on March 30. At that point, clocks will be moved forward by one hour, reducing the amount of sleep by 60 minutes. We will return to standard time on October 26, 2025.

Who invented daylight saving time?

Benjamin Franklin, the first U.S. ambassador to France, humorously suggested the idea of daylight saving time as a way to poke fun at the "lazy" French. In 1784, he wrote a satirical letter to the "Parisian Journal," proposing that clocks be moved forward during the summer months so citizens would rise earlier to enjoy more daylight. He also proposed a tax on window shutters, regulating candle use, and even suggested an artillery signal to wake people up.

More than a century later, in 1895, New Zealand astronomer and entomologist George Hudson proposed the idea again, this time driven by self-interest—he wanted the additional summer daylight to aid in his study of insects.

In 1907, British builder, golfer, and horology enthusiast William Willett also proposed daylight saving time after observing closed windows and drawn curtains during early morning travel, even though the summer dawn was beautiful.

A year later, on July 1, 1908, residents of Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, were granted permission by local businessman John Hewitson to move clocks forward by one hour to enjoy longer, brighter evenings. Other Canadian cities quickly followed suit.

However, darker motives led Germany to adopt daylight saving time on April 30, 1916. The extended daylight in summer enabled more efficient military operations and reduced the fuel needed for indoor lighting, thus increasing supplies for the army.

The United Kingdom followed suit in the next month. In fact, the British Parliament had discussed the idea since 1909, although farmers had strongly opposed the changes, preferring brighter summer mornings to work rather than longer, brighter evenings. Eventually, in 1925, daylight saving time became permanent in the UK, recognizing that waking hours do not align with the seasonal length of daylight.

In 2018, the European Union initiated a discussion on whether to continue changing the clocks or to settle on a single time zone. Most countries favored discontinuing the clock changes due to their negative impact on the human body. However, the discussions were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the discontinuation of time changes to happen, EU countries would need to align their choices and reach consensus on which time zone to adopt permanently. Several countries worldwide, including Turkey, Russia, and Peru, have already abandoned the practice of changing the clocks.

The reason for rejecting the change is that our biological clock needs adaptation, which can take 1-2 weeks. During this period, many people experience fatigue, headaches, forgetfulness, and other unpleasant effects on the body.

This year, daylight saving time will remain in effect until October 25, and on the night of October 26, 2025, we will return to astronomical time, with clocks being turned back by one hour.