Full Moon names date back
to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States.
Those tribes of a few hundred years ago kept track of the seasons by giving
distinctive names to each recurring full Moon.
Their names were applied
to the entire month in which each occurred. To be sure, there were some variations
in the Moon names, but in general the same ones were current throughout the
Algonquin tribes from New England on west to Lake Superior. European settlers
followed their own customs and created some of their own names.
Since the lunar ("synodic")
month is roughly 29.5 days in length on average, the dates of the Full Moon
shift from year to year. Below are all the Full Moon names for 2005, as well
as the dates and times (for the Eastern time zone).
January, February, March,
April, May, June, July,
August, September, October,
November, December
January 25, 5:32 a.m.
EST -- The Full Wolf Moon. Amid the zero cold and deep snows of midwinter,
the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. It was also known as
the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule. In some tribes this was the
Full Snow Moon; most applied that name to the next moon.
February
23, 11:54 p.m. EST -- The Full Snow Moon. Usually the heaviest snows
fall in this month. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some tribes
this was the Full Hunger Moon.
March
25, 3:58 p.m. EST -- The Full Worm Moon. In this month the ground
softens and the earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the robins.
The more northern tribes knew this as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing
of crows signals the end of winter, or the Full Crust Moon because the
snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The
Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation.
This is also the Paschal Full Moon; the first full Moon of the spring
season. The first Sunday following the Paschal Moon is Easter Sunday, which
indeed will be observed two days later on Sunday, March 27.
April
24, 6:06 a.m. EDT -- The Full Pink Moon. The grass pink or wild ground
phlox is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names were
the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and -- among coastal
tribes -- the Full Fish Moon, when the shad came upstream to spawn.
May
23, 4:18 p.m. EDT -- The Full Flower Moon. Flowers are abundant everywhere.
It was also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.
June
22, 12:14 a.m. EDT -- The Full Strawberry Moon. Known to every Algonquin
tribe. Europeans called it the Rose Moon.
July
21, 7:00 a.m. EDT -- The Full Buck Moon, when the new antlers of
buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also
often called the Full Thunder Moon, thunderstorms being now most frequent.
Sometimes also called the Full Hay Moon. The Moon will also be at perigee
later this day, at 4:00 p.m., at a distance of 221,928 mi./357,158 km miles
from Earth. Very high ocean tides can be expected from the coincidence
of perigee with full Moon.
August
19, 1:53 p.m. EDT -- The Full Sturgeon Moon, when this large fish
of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water like Lake Champlain is most
readily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the
moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon
or Grain Moon.
September
17, 10:01 p.m. EDT -- The Full Harvest Moon. Traditionally, this
designation goes to the Full Moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (Fall)
Equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but
every third year it occurs in October. At the peak of the harvest, farmers can
work into the night by the light of this moon. Usually the full Moon rises an
average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest
Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to
30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of
Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief
Indian staples -- are now ready for gathering.
October
17, 8:14 a.m. EDT -- The Full Hunter's Moon. With the leaves falling
and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped,
hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, also other
animals, which have come out to glean and can be caught for a thanksgiving banquet
after the harvest. A very minor (6.8% coverage) partial eclipse of
the Moon will take place between 7:34 and 8:32 a.m. EDT and will be visible
from western and central sections of North America.
November
15, 7:58 p.m. EST -- The Full Beaver Moon. Time to set beaver
traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another
interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Full Moon come from the fact that
the beavers are now active in their preparation for winter. Also called the
Frosty Moon.
December
15, 11:15 a.m. EST -- The Full Cold Moon; among some tribes,
the Full Long Nights Moon. In this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and
the nights are at their longest and darkest. Also sometimes called the Moon
before Yule (Yule is Christmas, and this time the Moon is only just before
it). The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter
night is indeed long and the Moon is above the horizon a long time. The midwinter
full Moon takes a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite to the
low Sun.
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Joe Rao
serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium.
He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and
he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News
12 Westchester, New York.
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