Initially, the transition to "summer" time was conceived as an opportunity to save public funds. In 1784, as US envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin declared that the 183 nights between March 20 and September 20 is the period in which you can not use candles, thus saving 96 million livres per 100 thousand families . But then the matter did not go further than conversations.
Later, in 1905, the famous English builder William Willett suggested that the time be changed 20 minutes forward every Sunday in April (for a total of 80 minutes), and that the clock be turned back in September, which would save up to 2.5 million pounds on lighting. This time the idea was lobbied by the author for 10 years, but did not receive the support of the British.
The first European country to use the idea of DST to conserve coal during the war was Germany (since April 30, 1916) and its allies in World War I. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit in 1917, and the US in 1918.
Ukraine began to switch to daylight saving time in 1981, along with other republics of the USSR. To date, the translation of clocks in Ukraine is legalized by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of May 13, 1996.
In September 2011, by a resolution of the Verkhovna Rada, the return to standard time was canceled, and it was decided to leave "summer time" permanent. This caused discontent in the western part of Ukraine, since in this region the solar time differs sharply from the 3rd time zone. Opinions were expressed that such a time would harm, first of all, children attending schools and kindergartens.
In October 2011, after critical speeches by a part of the public, the Verkhovna Rada recognized the aforementioned resolution as invalid and suggested that the Cabinet of Ministers submit a draft law on the procedure for calculating time on the territory of Ukraine for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada within one month. He was never accepted.
Today, the transfer of clocks from "winter" to "summer" time is used in 60 countries around the world. Another 140 countries have never used seasonal time, or abandoned this practice. In 2019, the European Parliament supported the idea of abolishing seasonal clock changes from 2021. The decision was made based on the results of an online vote held in the EU countries. Thus, 80% of EU residents voted for the abolition of the transition to "summer" and "winter" time.