Super-Blue-Blood Moon, And Other Moon Names
With tomorrow’s “Super Blue Blood Moon,” I was interested in learning more about full moon names.
The full moon’s name is usually based in nature and reflects the changing of the seasons. Our calendar is based on the sun’s activity, or the “solar year,” but in ancient times they used to follow the “lunar month.”
The “Super” moon means the moon will appear to be about 7% larger than a typical full moon because it will be very close to Earth, the “Blue” part means that a month has more than one full moon, the 2nd one of which would be called a blue moon, and the “Blood” part is because of a full lunar eclipse that will make the moon appear red.
According to Time and Date.com, here are the commonly-used moon names:
Named after howling wolves. Other names: Moon After Yule, Old Moon, Ice Moon.
Named after the snowy conditions. Other names: Hunger Moon, Storm Moon.
Named because of the earthworms that come out at the end of winter. Other names: Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Sugar Moon, Chaste Moon, Lenten Moon.
Named for the pink flowers that bloom in the early spring. Other names: Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Hare Moon, Egg Moon. Also known as the Paschal Moon because it is used to calculate the date for Easter.
Named for the flowers that bloom in May. Other names: Corn Planting Moon, Milk Moon.
Named for the berries that ripen around this time of year. Other names: Hot Moon, Mead Moon, Rose Moon.
Named for the new antlers deer bucks get around this time. Other names: Thunder Moon, Wort Moon, Hay Moon.
Named for the large number of fish in the lakes where the Algonquin tribes fished. Other names: Green Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Fruit Moon, Grain Moon.
The only full moon determined by equinox rather than month, it is the Full Moon closest to the Fall Equinox around September 22. Usually it falls in September, but about every three years, it is in October.
Other names: Full Corn Moon, Barley Moon.
Every three years, the Hunter's Moon is also the Harvest Moon. Other names: Dying Grass Moon, Blood Moon (not to be confused with a Total Lunar Eclipse – Blood Moon), Sanguine Moon.
Named after beavers who start preparing for the winter. Other names: Frosty Moon, Oak Moon. If the Beaver Moon is the last Full Moon before the winter solstice, it is also called the Mourning Moon.
Named for the month when winter begins for most of the Northern Hemisphere. Other names: Moon Before Yule.