[lucb1e]

> We are kind of used to having a couple of days where we assume everyone will run an hour late because of this.

Why not just specify times are given in winter time? Invite someone over for "19:00 winter time" rather than just "19:00".

Basically, "amazed at the kind of power the government wields" only works if people follow it. You don't have to put up with that crap (until the dust has settled) when using a time zone people already know: whichever one you've been using for the past ~6 months. (That is to say, this doesn't sound like a religious country type situation where the religious leader declares a new year randomly and you could be seen as not following the holy law by using a more predictable calendar. I vaguely remember something about Israel and Windows 9x just not supporting it until the country decided these things with reasonable lead times.)