No, it’s not a joke! A quick Google search turned up the site where I first read about this issue. The candy manufacturers had intermittently lobbied Congress to get DST pushed forward to include Halloween. It was done under the guise of children’s safety, although there has been much speculation that they were also attempting to increase their sales in the process. Here is a relevant snippet:

“For decades, candy manufacturers lobbied for a Daylight Saving Time extension to Halloween, as many of the young trick-or-treaters gathering candy are not allowed out after dark, and thus an added hour of light means a big holiday treat for the candy industry.”

Source link: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/k.html

For more references, searching on the keyword, “daylight saving time candy Halloween” will bring up several more results that discuss this issue in more detail.

However, you are also correct in stating that DST was a lame attempt at energy savings. In fact, this has been one of the primary arguments that has perpetuated its support and has made it difficult for us to get it abolished. The candy lobby thing was a way of piggybacking on the “saving energy” argument so that the DST time period could be moved forward by one more week. I did not mean to imply that it was a “conspiracy” exactly- just a special interest thing. We should never underestimate the silliness of American politics!

Your joking right?

I was a lame duck attempt to save electricity, not a candy conspiracy.

Canada has decided to follow the US on the DST change, its 3 weeks earlier in the spring as well. My vote is to abolish its use.

This was a royal pain in the arse for sys admins back in the spring.

http://www.davehildebrand.com/archives/67