The growing moon rises over the Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City. Photo credit: NASA / Bill Dunford
The next full moon is the Cold Moon, Frost Moon, Winter Moon, Beaver Moon, Oak Moon, Moon Before Christmas, Children’s Moon, Kartik Purnima, Karthika Deepam and Tazaungdaing Festival Moon and Ill Poya.
The next full moon is early Monday morning, November 30, 2020 and appears opposite the sun (at Earth-based length) at 4:30 a.m. EST. The moon appears full for approximately three days at this time from Saturday evening to Tuesday morning. The moon will be close enough to the sun to pass through Earth’s partial shadow, with 83 percent of the moon in partial shadow at 4:44 a.m., the height of the solar eclipse. The eclipse of the moon during this solar eclipse is unlikely to be noticeable without instrumentation, but for spacecraft on the moon like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the decrease in solar energy will be noticeable.
In the 1930s, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac first published “Indian” names for the annual full moons that were tied to the European months. I think it’s more likely that these Native American names were loosely tied to the seasons (especially if they were used before contact with Europeans). Since most of the earth had two full moons in October 2020 (the newer definition of a blue moon), the moon names will be offset by season and names by month until summer 2021, which will have four full moons (and one blue moon according to the older definition ). As the season progressed, as the last full moon of fall, the Algonquin tribes of what is now the north and east of the United States called this moon the cold moon because of the long, cold nights. Other names were the frost moon or the winter moon, for the frosts when winter approaches. During the month this would be the beaver moon and the full moon after the next the cold moon.
As a full moon before the winter solstice, an ancient European name for this moon is the oak moon, a name some believe to tie in with the ancient druid traditions of harvesting mistletoe from oaks, which the Roman historian Pliny the Elder first found in the 1st century recorded century AD. The term “druid” may be derived from the Proto-Indo-European roots for “oak” and “see”, which suggests that the term means “oak-wise man” or “oak seer”. Europeans also called this the Pre-Christmas Moon, a three-day winter solstice festival. In the 10th century, King Haakon I associated Christmas with Christmas as part of the Christianization of Norway, and this association spread across Europe. Some sources use these names for the full moon in December, even if it occurs after Christmas and the winter solstice.
When she saw the rising full moon, she said, “Do you know what this moon is called? It’s called Child Moon. Because the moon rises at a time the kids can see, because they’re not in bed, and maybe even outside like we are right now. “
A year ago, 7-year-old Astrid Hattenbach went home from school with her father Henry Throop (a friend and former employee of) NASA Headquarters). When she saw the rising full moon, she said, “Do you know what this moon is called? It’s called Child Moon. Because the moon rises at a time the kids can see, because they’re not in bed, and maybe even outside like we are right now. “Henry told me about it and I thought it was a perfect name. For the northern hemisphere, the earliest sunsets of the year are in early December. With this full moon on November 30, the eve of Sunday, November 29, 2020, it will be the earliest sunset of the year with a full moon in the sky, which makes it a children’s moon!
This full moon is Kartik Purnima, which is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs (each for different reasons). Karthika Deepam, also known as Karthikai Vilakkidu or Thrikarthika, is a festival of lights observed by Hindus from Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Kerala. This festival is celebrated when the almost full moon coincides with the constellation of the Pleiades (Krittika or Karttikai) and is celebrated on November 29, 2020 this year. In Myanmar, the festival of lights associated with this full moon is the Tazaungdaing Festival, a festival prior to the introduction of Buddhism. Every full moon (poya) is a public holiday in Sri Lanka. This is the sick (or il) poya who recalls the Buddha’s ordination of sixty disciples as first missionaries.
In lunisolar calendars, the months change with the new moon and full moons fall in the middle of the lunar month. This full moon is the middle of the tenth month of the Chinese calendar and Kislev in the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins near the end of Kislev and ends early next month, Tevet. In the Islamic calendar, the months begin with the first sighting of the growing crescent after the new moon. This full moon is near the center of Rabi ‘al-Thani, the fourth month of the Islamic year.
As usual, it is recommended to wear appropriately celebratory clothing in honor of the full moon. Stay warm, but take advantage of these early dips to get out, look up, and share the wonders of heaven!
