Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Sunset – 6:41 pm
Moonrise – 6:59 pm
High Tide – 9:07 pm
Full Hunters Moon
Mother Nature didn’t cooperate again for last month’s Full Moon. The forecast is much better for this month for a full moon bonfire on the beach with friends and neighbors. The cooler evenings will make it even more enjoyable. We will start the bonfire near sunset and it will need to be out by 10:00 pm. The bonfire will be between Boardwalks 1 and 2.
To keep things simple, each person brings what you want: food, drinks, chairs and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire and, hopefully, a full moon.
People ask if the bonfire will be held if it’s rainy…. the bonfire will be canceled if it is raining or rain is threatening as few would be comfortable attending.
In terms of the permit, the fire needs to be out no later than 10:00 pm. The earlier sunset means there will still be plenty of time to enjoy our beautiful beach and the companionship of our friends and neighbors.
Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar:
Friday, November 19
Sunday, December 19
Monday, January 17
There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or bring your house guests.
How the Full Moon got its name:
Per Old Farmers Almanac (https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names) October is Full Hunter’s Moon. This is the month when the game is fattened up for winter. Now is the time for hunting and laying in a store of provisions for the long months ahead.
The Harvest Moon is the full Moon that occurs nearest to the date of the autumnal equinox (September 22, 2021). This means that either September or October’s full Moon may take on the name “Harvest Moon” instead of its traditional name. Similarly, the Hunter’s Moon is the first full Moon to follow the Harvest Moon, meaning that it can occur in either October or November.
This year, the Harvest Moon occurred on September 20, so the Hunter’s Moon is one lunar cycle later, on October 20.
It is believed that this full Moon came to be called the full Hunter’s Moon because it signaled the time to go hunting in preparation for the cold winter ahead. Animals are beginning to fatten up ahead of winter, and since the farmers had recently cleaned out their fields under the Harvest Moon, hunters could easily see the deer and other animals that had come out to root through the remaining scraps (as well as the foxes and wolves that had come out to prey on them).
The earliest use of the term “Hunter’s Moon,” cited in the Oxford English Dictionary, is from 1710. Some sources suggest that other names for the Hunter’s Moon are the Sanguine or Blood Moon, either associated with the blood from hunting or the color of the changing autumn leaves.
Alternative October Moon Names are:
- Drying Rice Moon, a Dakota name, describes part of the post-harvest process of preparing rice for winter.
- Falling Leaves Moon is an Anishinaabe term that highlights the transition between summer and fall.
- Freezing Moon (Ojibwe) and Ice Moon (Haida) refer to the increasingly cold temperatures of this period.
- Migrating Moon (Cree) refers to the time when birds begin to fly south to warmer climates.
- I found another web site (http://newsclipper.hubpages.com/hub/The-Moon-Facts-Trivia-and-Folklore) This site also says the Cherokee Indians called it the Harvest Moon and the English Medieval name was the Blood Moon.
- Another web site (https://www.space.com/16830-full-moon-calendar.html) says the Chinese call it Kindly Moon.
-Submitted by Judy Morr
(Image credit: prntr.com)