View source for Full moon

{{Short description|Lunar phase: completely illuminated disc}}
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{{Other uses}}
[[File:Supermoon Nov-14-2016-minneapolis.jpg|thumb|The [[supermoon]] of 14 November 2016 was {{cvt|356511|km|mi}} away<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sivertimes.com/super-moon-exceptional-brightest-moon-in-the-sky-of-normandy-monday-november-14/1872 |title='Super Moon' ExceptIonal Brightest Moon in the Sky of Normandy, Monday, November 14 |date=12 November 2016 |website=silvertimes.com |access-date=8 February 2017 |archive-date=27 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427204920/http://sivertimes.com/super-moon-exceptional-brightest-moon-in-the-sky-of-normandy-monday-november-14/1872 |url-status=live }}</ref> from the center of Earth. Supermoons occur 3–4 times per year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Supermoons |url=https://science.nasa.gov/moon/supermoons/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=NASA Science |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
[[File:Eclipse vs new or full moons, annotated.svg|thumb|As the Earth revolves around the Sun, approximate [[axial parallelism]] of the Moon's orbital plane ([[Orbital inclination|tilted]] five degrees to the [[ecliptic|Earth's orbital plane]]) results in the revolution of the [[lunar nodes]] relative to the Earth. This causes an [[eclipse season]] approximately every six months, in which a [[lunar eclipse]] can occur at the full moon phase.]]

The '''full moon''' is the [[lunar phase]] when the [[Moon]] appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the [[Sun]] and the Moon (when the [[ecliptic coordinate system|ecliptic longitudes]] of the Sun and Moon [[opposition (astronomy)|differ by 180°]]).<ref>[P.&nbsp;Kenneth Seidelmann (ed.), [https://archive.org/details/131123ExplanatorySupplementAstronomicalAlmanac/page/n253 "Phases of the Moon"], ''Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac: A Revision to the Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac'', (Mill Valley: University Science Books, 1992), p.&nbsp;478.</ref> This means that the lunar hemisphere facing Earth—the [[near side of the Moon|near side]]—is completely sunlit and appears as an approximately circular disk. The full moon occurs roughly once a month.

The time interval between a full moon and the next repetition of the same phase, a [[Lunar month#Synodic month|synodic month]], averages about 29.53 days. Because of irregularities in the moon's orbit, the new and full moons may fall up to thirteen hours either side of their mean. If the calendar date is not locally determined through observation of the new moon at the beginning of the month there is the potential for a further twelve hours difference depending on the time zone. Potential discrepancies also arise from whether the calendar day is considered to begin in the evening or at midnight. It is normal for the full moon to fall on the fourteenth or the fifteenth of the month according to whether the start of the month is reckoned from the appearance of the new moon or from the conjunction.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://koyomi8.com/reki_doc/doc_0534.html | title=意外と違う満月の日と十五夜の日(満月の月齢変化） (No.0534) }}</ref> A [[Special:Permalink/1188536894#The Reichenau Primer (opposite Pangur Bán)|tabular lunar calendar]] will also exhibit variations depending on the intercalation system used. Because a calendar month consists of a [[Natural number|whole number]] of days, a month in a lunar calendar may be either 29 or 30 days long.

==Characteristics==
A full moon is often thought of as an event of a full night's duration, although [[lunar phase|its phase]] seen from Earth continuously waxes or wanes, and is full only at the instant when waxing ends and waning begins. For any given location, about half of these maximum full moons may be visible, while the other half occurs during the day, when the full moon is below the horizon. As the Moon's orbit is inclined by 5.145° from the ecliptic, it is not generally perfectly opposite from the Sun during full phase, therefore a full moon is in general not perfectly full except on nights with a [[lunar eclipse]] as the [[Moon]] crosses the ecliptic at opposition from the Sun.

Many [[almanac]]s list full moons not only by date, but also by their exact time, usually in [[Coordinated Universal Time]] (UTC). Typical monthly [[calendar]]s that include lunar phases may be offset by one day when prepared for a different [[time zone]].

The full moon is generally a suboptimal time for [[astronomical observation]] of the Moon because shadows vanish. It is a poor time for other observations because the bright [[moonlight|sunlight reflected]] by the Moon, amplified by the [[opposition surge]], then [[skyglow|outshines]] many stars.

===Moon phases===
There are eight phases of the moon, which vary from partial to full illumination. The moon phases are also called [[lunar phase]]s. These stages have different names that come from its shape and size at each phase. For example, the crescent moon is 'banana' shaped, and the half-moon is D-shaped. When the moon is nearly full, it is called a gibbous moon. The crescent and gibbous moons each last approximately a week.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=What are the names of full moons throughout the year? {{!}} Royal Museums Greenwich |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-are-names-full-moons-throughout-year |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=www.rmg.co.uk}}</ref>

Each phase is also described in accordance to its position on the full 29.5-day cycle. The eight phases of the moon in order:<ref name="auto"/>
* new moon
* waxing crescent moon
* first quarter moon
* waxing gibbous moon
* full moon
* waning gibbous moon
* last quarter moon
* waning crescent moon

===Formula===
The date and approximate time of a specific full moon (assuming a circular orbit) can be calculated from the following equation:<ref>{{Cite book| first = Jean | last = Meeus | date= 1998 | title = Astronomical Algorithms | edition = 2nd |isbn = 0-943396-61-1| chapter = Phases of the Moon | pages = 349–354 | publisher = Willmann-Bell | location = Richmond, Virginia}}</ref>
:<math> d = 20.362000+ 29.530588861 \times N + 102.026 \times 10^{-12} \times N^2</math>
where ''d'' is the number of days since 1 January 2000 00:00:00 in the [[Terrestrial Time]] scale used in astronomical [[Ephemeris|ephemerides]]; for [[Universal Time]] (UT) add the following approximate correction to ''d'':
: <math>-0.000739 - (235 \times 10^{-12})\times N^2</math> days
where ''N'' is the number of full moons since the first full moon of 2000. The true time of a full moon may differ from this approximation by up to about 14.5 hours as a result of the non-circularity of the Moon's orbit.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Meeus | first = Jean | chapter = The Duration of the Lunation |title= More Mathematical Astronomy Morsels | publisher = Willmann-Bell |location=Richmond, Virginia| date = 2002 | pages = 19–31 | isbn = 0-943396-74-3}}</ref> See [[New moon]] for an explanation of the formula and its parameters.

The age and apparent size of the full moon vary in a cycle of just under 14 [[synodic month]]s, which has been referred to as a [[full moon cycle]].

===Lunar eclipses===
When the Moon moves into [[Earth's shadow]], a [[lunar eclipse]] occurs, during which all or part of the Moon's face may appear reddish due to the [[Rayleigh scattering]] of blue wavelengths and the [[atmospheric refraction|refraction]] of [[sunlight]] through [[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]].<ref>{{cite book |first=P. Kenneth |last=Seidelmann |date=2005 |title=Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac |isbn=0-935702-68-7 |chapter=Phases of the Moon |publisher=University Science Books |page=478 |quote=They are the times when the excess of the Moon's apparent geocentric ecliptic longitude λ<sub>M</sub> over the Sun's apparent geocentric ecliptic longitude is 0, 90, 180, or 270 ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Celestial Alignment without Lunar Eclipse; from google (full moon earth block sunlight) result 2 |url=http://people.bu.edu/sscruggs/earthandmoon3.html |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-date=7 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007061804/http://people.bu.edu/sscruggs/earthandmoon3.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=tilted from the ecliptic by about 5 degrees; from google (full moon earth block sunlight) result 3 |url=http://www2.astro.psu.edu/users/rbc/a1/lec3n.html |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628034821/http://www2.astro.psu.edu/users/rbc/a1/lec3n.html |archive-date=28 June 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lunar eclipses happen only during a full moon and around points on [[orbit of the Moon|its orbit]] where the [[natural satellite|satellite]] may pass through the planet's shadow. A lunar eclipse does not occur every month because the Moon's orbit is [[orbital inclination|inclined]] 5.145° with respect to the [[ecliptic]] plane of Earth; thus, the Moon usually passes north or south of Earth's shadow, which is mostly restricted to this [[plane of reference]]. Lunar eclipses happen only when the full moon occurs around either [[orbital node|node of its orbit]] (ascending or descending). Therefore, a lunar eclipse occurs about every six months, and often two weeks before or after a [[solar eclipse]], which occurs during a [[new moon]] around the opposite node.

==In folklore and tradition==
{{See also|List of lunar deities|Lunar effect}}
[[File:Moon and red blue haze.jpg|thumb|A full moon rising, seen through the [[Belt of Venus]]]]

In Buddhism, [[Vesak]] is celebrated on the full moon day of the Vaisakha month, marking the birth, enlightenment, and the death of the Buddha.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/newsround/48106687|title=Vesak 2023: What is it and how do Buddhists celebrate Buddha Day or Wesak?|newspaper=BBC Newsround |date=May 15, 2019}}</ref>

In Arabic, badr (بدر ) means 'full moon', but it is often translated as 'white moon', referring to [[The White Days]], the three days when the full moon is celebrated.

Full moons are traditionally associated with [[insomnia]] (inability to sleep), [[insanity]] (hence the terms ''lunacy'' and ''lunatic'') and various "magical phenomena" such as [[lycanthropy]]. Psychologists, however, have found that there is no strong evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a full moon.<ref>{{cite web|title=Full Moon Effect On Behavior Minimal, Studies Say|date=6 February 2004|work=National Geographic News|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1218_021218_moon.html|access-date=3 December 2005|archive-date=24 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724190118/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1218_021218_moon.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> They find that studies are generally not consistent, with some showing a positive effect and others showing a negative effect. In one instance, the 23 December 2000 issue of the ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' published two studies on dog bite admission to hospitals in England and Australia. The study of the [[Bradford Royal Infirmary]] found that dog bites were twice as common during a full moon, whereas the study conducted by the public hospitals in Australia found that they were less likely.

[[File:Triple Goddess Symbol.svg|thumb|right|Symbol of the Triple Goddess]]
The symbol of the [[Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)|Triple Goddess]] is drawn with the circular image of the full moon in the center flanked by a left facing crescent and right facing crescent, on either side, representing a maiden, mother and crone archetype.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gilligan |first1=Stephen G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CkLBOvt10jwC&dq=%22triple+goddess%22+crescent+moon+symbol&pg=PA148 |title=Walking in Two Worlds: The Relational Self in Theory, Practice, and Community |last2=Simon |first2=Dvorah |date=2004 |publisher=Zeig Tucker & Theisen Publishers |isbn=978-1-932462-11-1 |pages=148 |language=en}}</ref>

===Full moon names===
Historically, month names are names of moons ([[lunation]]s, not necessarily full moons) in [[lunisolar calendar]]s. Since the introduction of the solar [[Julian calendar]] in the Roman Empire, and later the [[Gregorian calendar]] worldwide, people no longer perceive month names as "moon" names. The traditional [[Germanic calendar#Month names|Old English month names]] were equated with the names of the Julian calendar from an early time, soon after the [[Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England]]. This can be seen in the testimony of [[Bede]] from ''[[The Reckoning of Time]]'' (CE 725), where lunar month names are equated with the approximate Roman equivalents.

Some full moons have developed new names in modern times, such as "[[blue moon]]", as well as "harvest moon" and "hunter's moon" for the full moons of autumn.

The golden or reddish hue of the Harvest Moon and other full moons near the horizon is caused by atmospheric scattering. When the Moon is low in the sky, its light passes through a thicker layer of Earth's atmosphere, scattering shorter wavelengths like blue and violet and allowing longer wavelengths, such as red and yellow, to dominate. This effect, combined with environmental factors such as dust, pollutants, or haze, can intensify or dull the Moon's color. Clear skies often enhance the yellow or golden appearance, particularly during the autumn months when these full moons are observed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-03 |title=Deciphering the Spiritual Meaning of the Yellow Moon - SoulfulDreaming |url=https://soulfuldreaming.com/spiritual-meaning-of-the-yellow-moon/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Lunar eclipse]]s occur only at a full moon and often cause a reddish hue on the [[near side of the Moon]]. This full moon has been called a blood moon in popular culture.<ref name="Sappenfield">{{cite news |last=Sappenfield |first=Mark |title=Blood Moon to arrive Monday night. What is a Blood Moon? |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0413/Blood-Moon-to-arrive-Monday-night.-What-is-a-Blood-Moon |access-date=8 February 2018 |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=13 April 2014 |archive-date=15 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815125355/https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0413/Blood-Moon-to-arrive-Monday-night.-What-is-a-Blood-Moon |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{anchor|Harvest moon}}{{anchor|Hunter's moon}}

====Harvest and hunter's moons====
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[[File:harvest moon.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A harvest moon. Its orange color is due to greater [[Rayleigh scattering]] as the Moon appears close above the horizon, rather than being unique to harvest moons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.research.utoronto.ca/harvest-moon/ |title=Why is the harvest moon so big and orange? |date=27 September 2010 |publisher=[[University of Toronto]] |last=Percy |first=John |access-date=9 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230520/http://www.research.utoronto.ca/harvest-moon/ |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]

The "harvest moon" and the "hunter's moon" are traditional names for the full moons in late summer and in the autumn in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], usually in September and October, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-10 |title=What Makes the Hunter's Moon Special? {{!}} Almanac.com |url=https://www.almanac.com/what-makes-hunters-moon-special |access-date=2024-06-23 |website=www.almanac.com |language=en}}</ref> People may celebrate these occurrences in festivities such as the Chinese [[Mid-Autumn Festival]].

The "harvest moon" (also known as the "barley moon" or "full corn moon") is the full moon nearest to the [[September equinox|autumnal equinox]] (22 or 23 September), occurring anytime within two weeks before or after that date.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.almanac.com/content/what-harvest-moon |title= What is a Harvest Moon? |publisher= [[Old Farmer's Almanac]] |access-date= 2017-05-10 |archive-date= 2017-05-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170511071841/http://www.almanac.com/content/what-harvest-moon |url-status= live }}</ref> The "hunter's moon" is the full moon following it. The names are recorded from the early 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Ferguson |title=Astronomy explained upon Sir Isaac Newton's principles, and made easy to those who have not studied mathematics |year=1756 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ji1cAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA128 |page=128 |quote=...'harvest moon' is also the cognate of ''herbist-mānod'', the [[Old High German]] name of November recorded in ''[[Vita Karoli Magni]]'', ch. 29. |access-date=2016-02-09 |archive-date=2023-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409161331/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ji1cAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA128 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' entry for "harvest moon" cites a 1706 reference, and for "hunter's moon" a 1710 edition of ''The British Apollo'', which attributes the term to "the country people" ("The Country People call this the Hunters-Moon.") The names became traditional in [[American folklore]], where they are now often popularly attributed to [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nightskyinfo.com/sky_highlights/hunters_moon/ |title= The Hunter's Moon |last= Neata |first= Emil |publisher= Night Sky Info |access-date= 29 December 2008 |archive-date= 5 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201105231959/http://www.nightskyinfo.com/sky_highlights/hunters_moon/ |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[Feast of the Hunters' Moon]] is a yearly festival in [[West Lafayette, Indiana]], held in late September or early October each year since 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/feast.htm |title= Feast of the Hunters' Moon |publisher=Tippecanoe County Historical Association |url-status=dead |archive-url= 
https://web.archive.org/web/20090620084610/http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/feast.htm |archive-date=20 June 2009 }}</ref> In 2010 the harvest moon occurred on the night of the equinox itself (some 5{{fraction|1|2}} hours after the moment of equinox) for the first time since 1991, after a period known as the [[Metonic cycle]].<ref>{{cite web |first= Tony |last= Phillips |url= https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/22sep_harvestmoon/ |title= Watch out for the Super Harvest Moon |publisher= [[NASA]] Science |date= 22 September 2010 |access-date= 13 September 2011 |archive-date= 21 August 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110821060823/http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/22sep_harvestmoon/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Jack |last=Maddox |url=https://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/09/22/harvest.moon/index.html |title= Super Harvest Moon: Autumn phenomenon is a rare treat |publisher= [[CNN]] |date= 22 September 2010 |access-date= 13 September 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718212948/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-22/living/harvest.moon_1_autumn-full-moon-optical-illusion?_s=PM:LIVING |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

All full moons rise around the time of sunset. Since the Moon moves eastward among the stars faster than the Sun, lunar [[culmination]] is delayed by about 50.47 minutes<ref>1440 minutes / 29.531 days = 50.47 minutes</ref> (on average) each day, thus causing moonrise to occur later each day.

Due to the high [[lunar standstill]], the harvest and hunter's moons of 2007 were special because the time difference between moonrises on successive evenings was much shorter than average. The moon rose about 30 minutes later from one night to the next, as seen from about 40° N or S latitude (because the full moon of September 2007 rose in the northeast rather than in the east). Hence, no long period of darkness occurred between sunset and moonrise for several days after the full moon,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://calgary.rasc.ca/sunset_moonrise.htm |title= Sunset and Moonrise |first= Larry |last= McNish |publisher= RASC Calgary Centre |year= 2007 |quote= This gives a graph showing the effect as seen from Calgary, for the whole of the year 2007. |access-date= 2016-02-19 |archive-date= 2017-03-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170317232428/http://calgary.rasc.ca/sunset_moonrise.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> thus lengthening the time in the evening when there is enough twilight and [[moonlight]] to work to get the harvest in.

====Native American====
{{Redirect|Snow Moon|the song by Adonxs|Age of Adonxs {{!}} Age of Adonxs}}
Various 18th and 19th century writers gave what were claimed to be [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] moon names. These were not the names of the full moons as such, but were the names of lunar months beginning with each [[new moon]]. According to [[Jonathan Carver]] in 1778, "Some nations among them reckon their years by moons, and make them consist of twelve synodical or lunar months, observing, when thirty moons have waned, to add a supernumerary one, which they term the lost moon; and then begin to count as before." Carver gave the names of the lunar months (starting from the first after the [[March equinox]]) as Worm, Plants, Flowers, Hot, Buck, Sturgeon, Corn, Travelling, Beaver, Hunting, Cold, Snow.<ref>{{cite book |last=Carver |first=Jonathan | date=1778 |title= Travels through the interior parts of North-America in the years 1766, 1767, and 1768 |url= https://archive.org/details/travelsthroughin00incarv/page/250/mode/2up |location= London| page=250 }}</ref> Carver's account was reproduced verbatim in ''Events in Indian History'' (1841),<ref>{{cite book |last=Wimer |first= James |date=1841 |title=Events in Indian History |url= https://archive.org/details/eventsinindianh00jamegoog/page/550/mode/2up |location=Lancaster |publisher= G. Hills and Co.|page=551 }}</ref> but completely different lists were given by Eugene Vetromile (1856)<ref>{{cite book |last=Vetromile |first=Eugene |date=1856 |title=Indian Good Book |url= https://archive.org/details/indiangoodboo00vetr/page/440/mode/2up |location=New York |publisher=Edward Dunigan and Brother |page=440}}</ref> and [[Peter Jones (missionary)|Peter Jones]] (1861).<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Peter |date=1861 |title= History of the Ojebway Indians |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofojebway00jone/page/136/mode/2up |location= London|publisher=A.W. Bennett |page=136}}</ref>

In a book on Native American culture published in 1882, [[Richard Irving Dodge]] stated:<ref>{{cite book |last=Dodge |first=R.I. |date=1882 |title=Our Wild Indians |url=https://archive.org/details/indiansourwildth00dodgrich/page/396/mode/2up |location=Hartford, Conn. |publisher=A.D. Worthington and Company |page=397}}</ref>

<blockquote>There is a difference among authorities as to whether or not the moons themselves are named. Brown gives names for nine moons corresponding to months. Maximillian gives the names of twelve moons; and Belden, who lived many years among the Sioux, asserts that "the Indians compute their time very much as white men do, only they use moons instead of months to designate the seasons, each answering to some month in our calendar." Then follows a list of twelve moons with Indian and English names. While I cannot contradict so positive and minute a statement of one so thoroughly in a position to know, I must assert with equal positiveness that I have never met any wild Indians, of the Sioux or other Plains tribes, who had a permanent, common, conventional name for any moon. The looseness of Belden's general statement, that "Indians compute time like white people," when his only particularization of similarity is between the months and moons, is in itself sufficient to render the whole statement questionable.

My experience is that the Indian, in attempting to fix on a particular moon, will designate it by some natural and well-known phenomenon which culminates during that moon. But two Indians of the same tribe may fix on different designations; and even the same Indian, on different occasions, may give different names to the same moon. Thus, an Indian of the middle Plains will to-day designate a spring moon as "the moon when corn is planted;" to-morrow, speaking of the same moon, he may call it "the moon when the buffalo comes." Moreover, though there are thirteen moons in our year, no observer has ever given an Indian name to the thirteenth. My opinion is, that if any of the wild tribes have given conventional names to twelve moons, it is not an indigenous idea, but borrowed from the whites.</blockquote>

Jonathan Carver's list of purportedly Native American month names was adopted in the 19th century by the [[Improved Order of Red Men]], an all-white U.S. fraternal organization. They called the month of January "Cold moon", the rest being Snow, Worm, Plant, Flower, Hot, Buck, Sturgeon, Corn, Travelling, Beaver and Hunting moon. They numbered years from the time of [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus's]] arrival in America.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lindsay |first=George |date=1893 |title=Official History of the Improved Order of Red Men |url=https://archive.org/details/officialhistoryo00lindiala |location=Boston |publisher=The Fraternity Publishing Company |page=251}}</ref>

In ''The American Boy's Book of Signs, Signals and Symbols'' (1918), [[Daniel Carter Beard]] wrote: "The Indians' Moons naturally vary in the different parts of the country, but by comparing them all and striking an average as near as may be, the moons are reduced to the following."<ref>{{cite book |last=Beard |first=Daniel Carter |date=1918 |title= The American boys' book of signs, signals and symbols |url= https://archive.org/details/americanboysbook00bear5/page/78/mode/2up |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Lippincott  |page=79 }}</ref> He then gave a list that had two names for each lunar month, again quite different from earlier lists that had been published.

The 1937 ''Maine Farmers' Almanac'' published a list of full moon names that it said "were named by our early English ancestors as follows":<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.projectpluto.com/bluemoon.htm | title=Rules for determining Blue Moons }}</ref>

{{Poem quote|Winter Moons: Moon after Yule, Wolf Moon, Lenten Moon
Spring Moons: Egg Moon, Milk Moon, Flower Moon
Summer Moons: Hay Moon, Grain Moon, Fruit Moon
Fall Moons: Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, Moon before Yule}}

It also mentioned [[blue moon]]. These were considered in some quarters to be Native American full moon names, and some were adopted by [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial Americans]].<ref name=telegraph-20201104>{{cite news |title=Full moon dates for 2020, including November's Beaver Moon |date=4 November 2020 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/0/full-moon-dates-when-uk-2020-november-beaver/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105014448/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/0/full-moon-dates-when-uk-2020-november-beaver/ |archive-date=5 November 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 November 2020}}</ref> The ''[[Farmers' Almanac]]'' (since 1955 published in Maine, but not the same publication as the ''Maine Farmers' Almanac'') continues to print such names.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = https://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-dates-and-times
 |title        = Full Moon Names and Their Meanings
 |work         = [[Farmers' Almanac]]
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071005085525/http://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names
 |archive-date = 5 October 2007
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |title      = Full Moons: What's in a Name?
 |work      = [[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]
 |url      = http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/full-moon-article/
 |access-date      = 12 January 2012
 |archive-date      = 20 January 2012
 |archive-url      = https://web.archive.org/web/20120120105528/http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/full-moon-article/
 |url-status      = dead
 }}</ref>

Such names have gained currency in [[American folklore]]. They appeared in print more widely outside of the almanac tradition from the 1990s in popular publications about the Moon.
''Mysteries of the Moon'' by Patricia Haddock ("Great Mysteries Series", Greenhaven Press, 1992) gave an extensive list of such names along with the individual tribal groups they were supposedly associated with.<ref>repeated in ''The Moon Book'' by Kim Long (1998:[https://books.google.com/books?id=e6-ddrk3nxsC&pg=PA102 102ff.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409161852/https://books.google.com/books?id=e6-ddrk3nxsC&pg=PA102 |date=2023-04-09 }}) Also in ''Llewellyn's 1996 Moon Sign Book'' (1995)</ref> Haddock supposes that certain "Colonial American" moon names were adopted from [[Algonquian languages]] (which were formerly spoken in the territory of New England), while others are based in European tradition (e.g. the Colonial American names for the May moon, "Milk Moon", "Mother's Moon", "Hare Moon" have no parallels in the supposed native names, while the name of November, "Beaver Moon" is supposedly based in an Algonquian language). Many other names have been reported.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://americanindian.net/moons.html | title=Indian Moons, Days & Other Calendar Stuff }}</ref>

These have passed into modern mythology, either as full-moon names, or as names for lunar months. Deanna J. Conway's ''Moon Magick: Myth & Magick, Crafts & Recipes, Rituals & Spells'' (1995) gave as headline names for the lunar months (from January): Wolf, Ice, Storm, Growing, Hare, Mead, Hay, Corn, Harvest, Blood, Snow, Cold.<ref name="magick">{{cite book |last=Conway |first=D.J.|date=1995 |title=Moon Magick |url=https://archive.org/details/moonmagickmythma0000conw |location=St Paul, Minn.|publisher=Llewellyn Publications|isbn=978-1-56718-167-8 }}</ref> Conway also gave multiple alternative names for each month, e.g. the first lunar month after the [[winter solstice]] could be called the Wolf, Quiet, Snow, Cold, Chaste or Disting Moon, or the Moon of Little Winter.{{r|"magick"|page=19}} For the last lunar month Conway offered the names Cold, Oak or Wolf Moon, or Moon of Long Nights, Long Night's Moon, Aerra Geola (Month Before Yule), Wintermonat (Winter Month), Heilagmanoth (Holy Month), Big Winter Moon, Moon of Popping Trees.{{r|"magick"|page=247}} Conway did not cite specific sources for most of the names she listed, but some have gained wider currency as full-moon names, such as Pink Moon for a full moon in April, {{r|"magick"|page=77}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/pink.html | title=Pink Moon }}</ref> Long Night's Moon for the last in December<ref>{{cite news |last=Dance |first=Scott |date=23 December 2015 |title=''Long Night's Moon'' comes on Christmas for first time since 1977 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bal-wx-long-nights-moon-comes-on-christmas-for-first-time-since-1977-20151222-story.html |access-date=23 December 2015 |archive-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704111741/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bal-wx-long-nights-moon-comes-on-christmas-for-first-time-since-1977-20151222-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Ice Moon for the first full moon of January or February.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wolf Moon is the full moon in January |website=timeanddate.com |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/wolf.html |access-date=2018-01-26 |archive-date=2018-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202135615/https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/wolf.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Hindu full moon festivals===
{{See also|Purnima}}

In Hinduism, most festivals are celebrated on auspicious days. Many Hindu festivals are celebrated on days with a full moon night, called the ''purnima''. Different parts of India celebrate the same festival with different names, as listed below:

# Chaitra Purnima&nbsp;– Gudi Padua, [[Ugadi]], [[Hanuman Jayanti]] (15 April 2014)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.drikpanchang.com/purnima/chaitra/chaitra-purnima-date-time.html?year=2014 | title=2014 Chaitra Purnima &#124; Chaitra Pournami date for Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands | access-date=2014-08-13 | archive-date=2017-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610171402/http://www.drikpanchang.com/purnima/chaitra/chaitra-purnima-date-time.html?year=2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>
# Vaishakha Purnima&nbsp;– [[Narasimha Jayanti]], [[Vesak|Buddha Jayanti]] (14 May 2014)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.drikpanchang.com/purnima/vaishakha/vaishakha-purnima-date-time.html?year=2014 | title=2014 Vaishakha Purnima &#124; Vaishakha Pournami date for Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands | access-date=2014-08-13 | archive-date=2017-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610180336/http://www.drikpanchang.com/purnima/vaishakha/vaishakha-purnima-date-time.html?year=2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>
# Jyeshtha Purnima&nbsp;– [[Savitri Vrata]], [[Vat Purnima]] (8 June 2014)<ref name="india">{{Cite web | url=http://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/guru-purnima/guru-purnima-date-time.html?year=2014 | title=2014 Guru Purnima &#124; Vyasa Purnima Puja Date and Time for Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands | access-date=2014-08-13 | archive-date=2017-06-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610175348/http://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/guru-purnima/guru-purnima-date-time.html?year=2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>
# Ashadha Purnima&nbsp;– [[Guru Purnima]], Vyasa Purnima
# Shravana Purnima&nbsp;–  [[Upanayana]] ceremony, [[Upakarma|Avani Avittam]], [[Raksha Bandhan]], [[Onam]]
# Bhadrapada Purnima&nbsp;– Start of [[Pitru Paksha]], [[Madhu Purnima]]
# Ashvin Purnima&nbsp;– [[Sharad Purnima]]
# [[Kartik Poornima|Kartika Purnima]]&nbsp;– [[Karthikai Deepam]], Thrukkarthika
# Margashirsha Purnima&nbsp;– [[Thiruvathira]], [[Datta Jayanti|Dattatreya Jayanti]]
# Pushya Purnima&nbsp;– [[Thaipusam]], [[Shakambhari Purnima]]
# [[Magha Purnima]]
# Phalguna Purnima&nbsp;– [[Holi]]

==Lunar and lunisolar calendars==
{{Main|Lunar calendar}}
[[File:Christmas full moons 1977-2091.gif|thumb|The December 2015 full moon coincided with Christmas.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/rare-full-moon-on-christmas-day |title=Rare Full Moon on Christmas Day, NASA |date=16 December 2015 |access-date=2015-12-23 |archive-date=2021-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506160209/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/rare-full-moon-on-christmas-day/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This last occurred in 1977 (for the American timezones). A small horizontal [[libration]] is visible comparing their appearances. By the 19-year [[metonic cycle]] the full moon will repeat on Christmas Day in 2034, 2053, 2072, and 2091.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-wea-1221-asktom-20151220-column.html |title=Ask Tom: How unusual is a full moon on Christmas Day? |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=20 December 2015 |access-date=2015-12-23 |archive-date=2017-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629141733/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-wea-1221-asktom-20151220-column.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

Most pre-modern calendars the world over were [[lunisolar]], combining the solar year with the lunation by means of [[intercalary month]]s.<ref>see e.g., {{Cite book | first = Bonnie | last = Blackburn | display-authors = etal | date = 1999 | title = The Oxford Companion to the Year | isbn = 0-19-214231-3 | publisher = Oxford University Press | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00blac }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| first = Edward M. | last = Reingold |display-authors=etal | date= 2001 | title = Calendrical Calculations: The Millennium Edition |title-link= Calendrical Calculations | isbn = 0-521-77752-6 | publisher = Cambridge University Press}}</ref> The Julian calendar abandoned this method in favour of a purely solar reckoning while conversely the 7th-century [[Islamic calendar]] opted for a purely lunar one.

A continuing lunisolar calendar is the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Evidence of this is noted in the dates of [[Passover]] and Easter in Judaism and Christianity, respectively. Passover falls on the full moon on 15 Nisan of the Hebrew calendar. The date of the Jewish [[Rosh Hashana]] and [[Sukkot]] festivals along with all other [[Jewish holidays]] are dependent on the dates of the new moons.<ref>[[Leviticus]] 23:4–7, 33–35.</ref>

===Intercalary months===
{{Main|Intercalary month}}

In lunisolar calendars, an intercalary month occurs seven times in the 19 years of the [[Metonic cycle]], or on average every 2.7 years (19/7). In the [[Hebrew calendar]] this is noted with a periodic extra month of [[Adar]] in the early spring.

==Meetings arranged to coincide with full moon==
Before the days of good street lighting and car headlights, several organisations arranged their meetings for full moon, so that it would be easier for their members to walk, or ride home. Examples include the [[Lunar Society of Birmingham]], several [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] societies, including [[Warren Lodge No. 32]], USA and [[Masonic Hall, York]], Western Australia, and several [[List of former territorial authorities in New Zealand|New Zealand local authorities]], including [[Awakino]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 1913 |title=Awakino County Council. Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KSRA19130404.2.13 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> [[Ōhura#Ohura County Council|Ohura]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 September 1909 |title=Ohura County Council. King Country Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19090930.2.15 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> and [[Whangarei County]] Councils<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 August 1913 |title=West's pictures. Northern Advocate |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NA19130809.2.19 |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> and [[Maori Hill]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 December 1909 |title=Maori Hill Borough Council. Otago Daily Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19091217.2.85 |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> and [[Wanganui]] East Borough Councils.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 May 1909 |title=Wanganui East Borough Council. Wanganui Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19090511.2.68 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Solar System}}
* [[Blue moon]]
* [[Lunar eclipse]]
* [[Lunar effect]]
* [[Lunar phase]]
* [[Near side of the Moon]]
* [[Orbit of the Moon]]

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Full moon}}
* [https://nextfullmoon.org/ Moon Phase Calendar for any date]

{{The Moon}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Full Moon}}
[[Category:Full moon| ]]
[[Category:Observational astronomy]]
[[Category:Phases of the Moon]]