After helping the kids tally how much Halloween loot they gathered, folks should be sure to set their clocks back an hour.

As is mandated by Congress, daylight saving time officially ends at 2 a.m. Sunday.

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory — the official source of time for the U.S. Department of Defense and standard time setter for the country — daylight saving time was established in 1918. The act was repealed in 1919, but later re-established during World War II to allow for energy savings during war production times, allowing workers to take advantage of the extended sunlight hours between April and October. After the war ended, daylight saving time varied from state to state. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established uniform start and end dates — but still allowed states to observe the time changes or not.

Although most states observe daylight saving time, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe the time change.

While residents are focusing on updating their clocks, fire officials also want people to remember to check the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

"Many homes have smoke and (carbon monoxide) alarms with batteries that should be replaced at least twice annually. The time changing can serve as a reminder to check alarms and change the batteries," said Cpt. Scott Cagle, Hall County fire marshal.

"With the development of long-life, lithium battery-powered alarms, the batteries have a life span of up to 10 years, so you may not need to replace this type of battery as often."

According to the National Fire Protection Association, around 90 percent of American homes have smoke alarms, but more than half of those are not working properly.

"The key is to take a few minutes to check, test and clean your smoke and (carbon monoxide) alarms to make sure they are functioning properly," Cagle said. "And what better time to do this than when you change the time on your clocks?"