Yes, but my point still holds, the code above is buggy/unclear. And documentation supports this: >>> loc_dt = eastern.localize(datetime(2002, 10, 27, 1, 30, 00

Yes, but my point still holds, the code above is buggy/unclear. And documentation supports this: >>> loc_dt = eastern.localize(datetime(2002, 10, 27, 1, 30, 00)) >>> loc_dt.strftime(fmt) '2002-10-27 01:30:00 EST-0500' > As you can see, the system has chosen one for you and there is a 50% chance of it being out by one hour. And the solution, you're right, is to not use the code like above. But the article doesn't mention that at all.