Do You Know the Name for Each Full Moon?

November 13th marks the next full moon. For deer hunters, the November full moon combined with a cold front signals the beginning of the rut, the time of year when whitetails reproduce. The rut is prime time for hunting as bucks chase does day and night, letting down their usually defensive guard. This has been the traditional hunting season for thousands of years.

So, you'll hear some hunters refer to this full moon as the "rut moon" or even the "hunter's moon." But they're wrong. The November full moon is actually called the Beaver Moon. Huh? you ask. Well, Native Americans, among other civilizations, named each full moon through the year as a way to mark the changing seasons and as a reminder to plant or harvest crops.

The Beaver Moon was the next-to-last full moon of the year and as an indicator to set traps for beavers before the swamps froze. The pelts were used for warmth and the meat was rife with fat, both necessities for the cold winter.

After the jump I'll list out each month's moon name and the reasoning behind it. These monikers are from the Farmer's Almanac and were consistent among most American Indian tribes along the East Coast and Midwest.

January--The Wolf Moon
Pretty kickin' name, eh? This is the time of year when wolf packs would hunt through the night, howling as they searched for meat. Sometimes that meant getting uncomfortably close to the Indian camps as the scent of food lured them in.

February--The Snow Moon
For much of the U.S., this is the snowiest month of the year and temperatures could sink dangerously low. Not the friendliest name but compare it to the "Hunger Moon," which is what some tribes called it, and Snow Moon sounds pretty docile.

March--The Worm Moon
The first moon to offer a reprieve from the winter months. This moon's name came from the earth worm casts that would appear and indicated the return of the robins.
April--The Fish Moon
For coastal tribes this marked the season when shad would migrate up the rivers. And for inland tribes it marked runs of trout from the lakes to the feeder streams.

May--The Flower Moon
Simple enough. By May most of the country is in bloom and also free of frost so tribes would begin their planting.

June--The Strawberry Moon
Strawberry season is quite short. The fruit is only available for a couple of weeks and it coincides with the June full moon. That's easy to remember, right?

July--The Buck Moon
Another hunting-related moon. In July male deer and elk begin to grow antlers. An alternative nickname is the thunder moon since July is prime for boomers.

August--The Sturgeon Moon
It's hard to believe now, but giant sturgeon used to swim in most of our countries rivers and bigger lakes. Those days are long gone, but the name stuck. According to fishing tribes, this was the optimal time to catch the underwater beast.

September--The Harvest Moon
Cue the Neil Young. It's the time of year when most Native American crops were ready for picking.

October--The Hunter's Moon
Still relevant today as October marks the beginning of most hunting seasons around the country.

November--The Beaver Moon
We covered this one on page one. Don't remember? Look at the top of the page.

December--The Long Night Moon
There's nothing unclear about this one. The winter solstice=long nights and short days.

Now you've got some semi-useful trivia to impress your friends or even score a free beer from a bet.