Holidays range and vary from the more iconic festivities such as Christmas or Halloween to more obscure celebrations, such as National Corndog or Kiss a Ginger Day. No matter who you are or what part of the world you live in everyone has celebrated a holiday at least once in their lifetime. Everyone has their personal favorite holiday and for good reasons too. Maybe it’s the food, the gifts, and presents, or the company of your family and loved ones that imbedded cherished occasions into your memories. Sure, as a little boy holidays like Christmas would always be my favorite but as I grew older the taste in things I value has drastically changed. Daylights Saving Time (specifically fall back) has become the icing on the cake in being my favorite holiday to celebrate.

Sure, you’re probably baffled by that statement. I just need you to hear me out. I’m not saying that I dislike holidays such as Christmas as I still value the time I spend with family, I just think Daylights Savings Time has flown under the radar in appreciated holidays. I know that your favorite department store doesn’t have a special sale for daylights savings time, you don’t go trick or treating, and you don’t go exchanging gifts; you get something even more valuable. Sleep. Gaining an hour of sleep may not seem like a lot, but as a high school senior with deadlines and applications all over the place every wink of sleep matters. Let’s be honest I would trade another gifted pair of socks for an hour of sleep any day.

You might think an hour of extra sleep is nothing to celebrate about but you’re dead wrong. This extra hour of sleep doesn’t just last one day, its duration lasts for at least a week (for me at least).

In the weeks leading towards Daylight Savings Time, I was nothing short of a walking corpse. Each day consisted of waking up late to my zoom class and attempting to learn while half asleep. When I wasn’t in class the free time I would use for naps would be taken away from me by college applications, homework, and everything I missed in class prior to being half asleep (and the cycle continues). In other words, I was experiencing a living nightmare.

When I thought things were going to stay the same or become worse, Daylights Savings Time became my remedy as this miracle broke the cycle. I could still remember the first morning I awoke after the clocks were turned back. For the first time in weeks, I felt well-rested and for once I was on time for my first class. Not only did this extra hour lighten up my mood it also made me more productive and attentive during and after school. The best part of everything is that this feeling lasted for over a week and from then on my sleep schedule has been relatively normal. Christmas might be the holiday of gift-giving and Thanksgiving may be the day of giving thanks but Daylights Saving Time has given me the best gift and has made me feel the most thankful.

As ironic as it may be, Daylight Savings time, unfortunately, does the opposite effect in the spring. As much as I love daylight savings times “Fall back” I despise “Spring forward”. Despite my hatred for spring forward it doesn’t really have an impactful effect in a long-term sense.  Sure the first morning waking up an hour early sucks, but I tend to adjust to the change in time rather quickly. Compared to the entire week of better sleep and the remedy to my schedule of “Fall back” certainly outweighs the negatives of Daylight Savings Time, at least I’d take this trade-off.

Daylight Savings Time might not win the popular vote as a holiday but it still has made a special place in my heart and it seems to get better as each year passes by. It might not be your favorite holiday but that’s understandable. As long as a person’s favorite holiday is something you cherish and that all that really matters.  Before I forget, what’s your favorite holiday?