Eye on the Sky Vol. 5 – Saturday, September 23, 2023
The fourth and final SUPERMOON for 2023 is on the 29th! Remember, a supermoon happens when the moon is full and is its closest to Earth, so it looks huge. In our area, it will appear in the Eastern horizon a little after 7:00 pm. This month’s full moon also happens to be the closest to the autumnal equinox, so it is called the Harvest Moon.
Did you know that cultures around the world have names for the full moons that happen throughout the year? September has always been a very important time for us in the Northern Hemisphere, as it’s the time to harvest, so it’s no surprise that the names reflect what’s being harvested:
In the US and Europe, September’s full moon is called Full Corn Moon, but it’s also been called The Wine Moon, Barley Moon, and Song Moon throughout History.
The Cherokee Nation call it Duliidsdi (Nut Moon.)
The Abenaki call it Skamonkas (Corn Maker Moon.)
The Pueblo peoples call it Passamaquoddy (Moon when the Corn is Taken In.)
The Algonquins call it Kagàkone Kìzis (Harvest Moon.)
The Chippewa and Ojibwe people near the Great Lakes call it Manoominike-Giizis (Wild Rice Moon.)
In China, this moon marks the Mid Autumn Festival 中秋节 (zhōng qiū jié.) Mid Autumn Festival is a very important holiday, much like our Thanksgiving. Families gather together to light lanterns, eat mooncakes, and celebrate family reuniting.
In Korea, this festival is called 추석 (Chuseok) and is also very much like our Thanksgiving.
In Japan, (photo above is Yokkaichi City,) it is called お月見 (Tsukimi.) It means “moon viewing.”
Mid Autumn Festival is widely celebrated in Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand too!
We are visiting with our family from China on Friday, so we will be making five nuts mooncakes with einkorn flour and Julian honey tomorrow, while listening to our Coco Lee playlist on Spotify. It is traditional to make mooncakes several days ahead, so they have time to soften. If you want to partake in this tradition, you don’t even have to learn how to make them because they are often available at Costco this time of year! (They are not safe for gluten or nut allergies though.)
Happy Mid Autumn Festival! 中秋快乐! (Zhōng qiū kuài lè!) 🥮
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