Full moon names go back a few hundred years to Native Americans living in what is now the northern and eastern United States. These tribes tracked the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which it occurred.
There were some variations in the names of the moons, but in general they were present in all the Algonquin tribes from New England to the west to Lake Superior. European settlers followed their own customs and created some of their own names. Because the lunar (“synodic”) month averages approximately 29.5 days, the dates of the full moon change from year to year.
Here is a list of all full moon names, as well as dates and times of 2021. Unless otherwise noted, all times correspond to the time zone of the east.
January 28: Moon full of wolf
14:16 EST (1916 GMT)
In the midst of the zero cold and the deep snows of mid-winter, the mango wolf howled hungry outside the Indian villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule. In some tribes this was the full moon of snow; most applied that name to the next moon.
Full moon January 2021: The ‘Wolf Moon’ comes out with winter constellations
February 27: Full snow moon
3:17 am EST (0817 GMT)
Heavy snow usually falls this month. Hunting becomes very difficult and therefore for some tribes this was the Moon of Hunger.
March 28: Full worm moon
2:48 pm EDT (1817 GMT)
In this month the earth softens and the launches of worms reappear inviting the return of the robins. The northernmost tribes knew it as the Full Crow Moon, when the crow’s crow indicates the end of winter or the Full Crust Moon because the layer of snow shortens due to daytime thawing and freezing night. The full sap moon, which marks the time to touch maple trees, is another variation.
This is also the full moon of Easter; the first full moon of the spring season. The first Sunday following the Easter moon is Easter Sunday, which will in fact be observed a week later on Sunday 4 April.
April 26: Full moon
23:32 EDT (0332, 27 April GMT)
Grass or wild pink ground phlox is one of the first widespread spring flowers. Other names were the moon of grass that arose completely, the moon of the egg, and, among the coastal tribes, the full moon of fish, when the shadow came upstream to generate.
May 26: Moon full of flowers
7:14 am EDT (1114 GMT)
Flowers are abundant everywhere. It was also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or Milk Moon. The moon will also be at perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, about nine hours earlier, at 10pm EDT on May 25, at a distance of 357,311 kilometers from Earth. It will be the closest “supermoon“of 2021. Very high ocean tides can be expected from the coincidence of the perigee with the full moon.
And finally, the moon will experience one total lunar eclipse, which will favor the western half of the United States and Canada, Totality will be unusually short, lasting only about 15 minutes. It will be the only total lunar eclipse of the year, and only a partial lunar eclipse will be celebrated in November.
Related: Amazing photos of the “Super Blood Wolf Moon”
June 24: Full strawberry moon
2:40 pm EDT (1940 GMT)
Known by all the Algonquin tribes. Europeans called it the Moon of Roses.
Related: Sweet! Rare Strawberry ‘Minimoon’ offers stunning photographs
July 23: Full Buck Moon
22:37 pm EDT (0237 July 24 GMT)
When the new deer horns come out of the forehead with velvety skin linings. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, now being the most frequent storm. This is sometimes also called a Full Hay Moon.
August 22: Full sturgeon moon
8:02 am EDT (1202 GMT)
At this time of year, this large fish from the Great Lakes and other large bodies of water such as Lake Champlain is easily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon turns red through the stifling fog. Other variations include the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.
The full moon in August will also be a “blue moon,” as recognized by the original arcane rules of Maine Farmer’s extinct almanac. Normally, each season contains three full moons. Sometimes, however, four full moons can be squeezed out in a single season. When this happens, the third full moon was described as the “Blue Moon.” During the 2021 summer season, there are four full moons: June 24, July 23, August 22, and September 20. This is the third full moon of the summer season. (The most common and widely accepted definition of a “blue moon” is a second full moon in a single natural month.)
September 20: Full harvest moon
19:55 EDT (2355 GMT)
Traditionally, this designation goes to the full moon which occurs closer to the autumn equinox (which is more common in September). On average, the October harvest moons reach intervals of three years, although the time period can be quite variable and there may be situations in which they can spend up to eight years (the following example will come between 2020 and in 2028).
At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work until night in the light of this moon. The full moon usually rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the harvest moon, the moon appears to rise at the same time each night: only between 25 and 30 minutes later in the United States 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, squash, squash, beans, and wild rice (the main commodities of Native Americans) are now ready to be harvested.
October 20: Full Hunter Moon
10:57 am EDT (1457 GMT)
With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it’s time to hunt. Since the fields have been mowed, hunters can walk over the stubble and can more easily see the fox, as well as other animals, that have come out to pick and can be caught for a Thanksgiving banquet after the harvest.
November 19: Full Beaver Moon
3:58 am EST (0858 GMT)
Now it is it is time to set beaver traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter skins. Another interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Moon comes from the fact that beavers are now active in their preparation for winter. This is also called the Frozen Moon.
The second year lunar eclipse it occurs early this morning; an almost total eclipse with 97.4% of the diameter of the moon immersed in the dark shadow of the Earth at 4:04 am EST (0904 GMT).
December 18: Full cold moon
23:37 pm EST (0437, December 19 GMT)
December is usually considered the month in which the winter cold begins to take hold in the northern hemisphere. The full moon of this month is also called the Long Moon of the Night, as the nights are longer and darker. It is also known as the Moon before Yule. The term Long Moon at Night is a doubly appropriate name because the mid-winter night is really long and the moon is well above the horizon.
The full moon of winter has a high trajectory through the sky because it is opposite to the low sun. This is also the smallest full moon of 2021 (a “micromoon, “or minimoon), as the Earth will reach its apogee, its farthest distance from Earth, on December 17 at a distance of 406,320 km (252,476 miles). The moon will appear 14% smaller compared with the full moon on May 26.
Joe Rao is a guest instructor and professor at the Hayden Planetarium in New York. He writes about astronomy in the journal Natural History, the Farmers’ Almanac, and other publications. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.