Last Full Moon of Winter

Tonight is a full moon. The March full moon is considered to be the last full moon of winter. It has a variety of folk names.

It has also been called the Full Worm because as the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear and that often marks the return of the robins which in turn signals spring.

Native American tribes of the North knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon. The cawing of crows also signaled the end of winter.  Other tribes referred to it as the Full Crust Moon, so named because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night.

The Full Sap Moon is a name for this March moon that marks the time of tapping maple trees.

To early American settlers, it was the Lenten Moon. Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where according to the Bible he endured temptation by Satan. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter. This celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus also has pagan connections to spring seasonal celebrations.

The full moon before Easter is known as the Egg Moon and would be the first moon after March 21, while the and the Lenten Moon would be the last moon on or before March 21.

Welcome, spring…