![]() In May, spring is typically in full force, and various Moon names recognize the budding and blooming of flowers. Other names for this season make reference to flowers, eggs, fish, and the return of spring. Full Pink Moon (Maple Sap Boiling Moon)Īttributed to the growth and blossom of the moss pink. Also called the Sap Moon, because it’s the time to tap the maples for their sap. Worms begin to crawl in the ground, heralding the return of birds, which will feed on them. ![]() Full Worm Moon (Hard Crust on the Snow Moon)Īs the temperatures begin to rise, the snow melts and the earth softens and becomes mud. The Ojibwe named this Moon after the sucker fish, an important resource for their winter survival. The winter is still alive and well and the snow covers everything. In January (or the first full Moon after the winter solstice), it’s easy to picture packs of wolves howling at the Moon outside the villages in Europe and North America, as the winter’s rigors deprived the animals of food. The full Moon times are given in Eastern time. In parentheses, to give an idea of the variety of names used among different tribes, are the names used by the Ojibwe, one of the largest Algonquin tribes in the Great Lakes area. The following list includes the most commonly used names for each full Moon of the year. In native cultures, those names were accompanied by legends and oral traditions that transmitted knowledge and cultural customs. Nevertheless, some common themes are easy to spot: winter weather, crop availability, and fishing and hunting cues find expression in Moon names. In reality, most Native American tribes have their own set of full Moon names, and those names reflect each tribe’s customs and regional climate and ecology. But these names have been embraced and are still widely used, which speaks to the power and usefulness of the lunar tradition, both as a cultural vehicle and timekeeping device. The origins of the Old Farmer’s Almanac list are difficult to trace moreover, a single list poorly reflects the richness, subtleties, and regional variation of native cultures. They are the names the Colonial Americans adapted most.” the Algonquin tribes who lived in regions from New England to Lake Superior. The Old Farmer’s Almanac, an American publication that has been in print since the late 1700s, includes a list of full Moon names it attributes to a group of Native American tribes: “. Its usefulness is reflected in the popular full Moon names used throughout the year. Nevertheless, the lunar cycle was long used to keep track of time when exact calendar dates were less important. ![]() This solar calendar, unlike the lunar calendar, guarantees a date for every day of the year and maintains the equinoxes -and thus the seasons- on (roughly) the same dates every year. It’s a refinement of the Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, which improved upon to the Egyptian solar calendar that already divided the solar year into 365 days. The calendar we use today is the Gregorian Solar Calendar, which Pope Gregory XIII introduced in 1582. To compensate, a 13th moon has to be added to the lunar year at regular periods. For that reason, the lunar calendar goes out of sync with the seasons it’s supposed to mark. Earth’s seasons are linked to the solar year, which is longer than 12 full moons. Each lunar cycle is 29.5 days long, a constant and handy time unit that’s easier to use than individual days for tracking seasonal events, such as the length of summer or harvest and hunting times.īut the lunar calendar has its limitations. The lunar cycle - the period of time between one full Moon and the next - has been a common timekeeping device for human beings across the world. Houssem Ksontini / S&T Online Photo Gallery ![]()
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