While I’m disappointed that last night’s pink moon did not feature any special colors, I’m not surprised. Blue moons aren’t blue either, so the naming of moons is a highly suspect practice in my opinion.
Despite my disappointment, I had to find out why it’s called a pink moon and in the process I learned that the pink moon and its connection to Easter involve two different sets of spiritual beliefs about the cycle of the moon.
What is the Pink Moon?
The pink moon is the first full moon to occur after the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. While the dates of the equinox are fairly consistent (it’s always on or near March 20) the dates of the pink moon can fall anywhere from March 21 through April 18.
The term pink moon comes from Native American tribes, and European settlers began to use the term as well. It’s been called the peony moon by the Chinese, the growing moon by Celtic tribes, and the egg moon in ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Jewish and Christian traditions refer to it as the paschal moon. In the southern hemisphere, it’s the harvest moon.
Why is It Called Pink When it Isn’t?
Native American tribes called the first full moon after the equinox the pink moon because it signaled the return of the wild ground phlox, an early flower of spring that happens to be pink. Other Native American names for the moon include flower moon (Cherokee) fishing moon (Pequot) and sprouting grass moon.
While many of the moon names come from tribes from the eastern regions of North America, the moon plays a significant role in the belief system of tribes from all over. For the Nuu-chah-nulth tribes of the Pacific Northwest coast, for instance, the moon is seen as a guardian and guide. According to creation myths, a raven set the sun, moon, and stars in the sky, but during a lunar eclipse, a giant codfish swallowed the moon. Worshippers would build bonfires and then add green pine branches hoping to create enough smoke to force the codfish to cough up the moon.
What Does the Pink Moon Have to Do with Easter?
Some Christian holidays, such as Christmas, Epiphany, and the Feast of All Saints, have been assigned specific days on the modern Gregorian calendar. But the date of Easter changes every year, and that also affects the dates of other holy days such as Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, and Pentecost.
Why? It has to do with the first full moon after the spring equinox, the pink moon. At least, that’s the case most of the time. (More about that below.)
On the very first Easter, Jesus rose from the tomb on the Sunday after the Jewish feast of Passover. The date for Passover is based on the Jewish calendar, which is partially based on cycles of the moon. It is usually the first full moon after spring equinox but once in a while, it falls on the next lunar cycle. (As I understand it, the Jewish calendar is partially based on the moon because when the Lord’s commanded His people to celebrate the time of Passover as the first month of the year, the word used for month was literally translated as “renewal. This was taken to mean that each time the moon renewed itself, that would be a start of a new month.)
It would make sense to celebrate Easter every year on the first Sunday after Passover, But early church leaders didn’t want to be tied to the Jewish calendar, so they created their own formula which was based on the Roman solar calendar rather than a lunar calendar. In 325, the Council of Nicaea declared that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is in theory the first full moon after the spring equinox. But they designated the equinox as an actual date (March 21) when in reality, the equinox often falls on different dates. So sometimes, the Paschal full moon is different than the pink moon—but most of the time, they’re the same.
We Should Call it the Egg Moon Instead
Since the Pink Moon isn’t pink and eggs are a part of the Passover Seder and Easter celebrations, I think we should refer to the full moon that triggers the timing of these holidays by the old Anglo-Saxon name, the egg moon. After all, the name Easter is said to derive from the Eostre or Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring.
I don’t have a good camera for taking night photos, so my pictures of the moon always look sort-of egg-shaped anyway.
I hope you enjoyed your egg moon and that you have a blessed Easter!
————————————————-
While none of my books feature the moon or Easter, my character Helen in The Appearance of Impropriety does enjoy dropping eggs from varying heights for scientific purposes.