This Thursday night is the first full moon in March, the so-called Worm Moon because this time of year earthworms appear out of soil to the delight of robins and mud-mucking toddlers. Spring is all around us.
Yet, it’s a different story in other climates. The Dakota of the Upper Midwest referred to the March moon as the Sore Eyes Moon due to the glare of sunlight off the melting snow. Further south, the Pueblos knew the Wind Strong Moon for the gusts whipping across the desert.
I’m not suggesting that one culture is superior to another, but rather that it’s helpful to recall how we interpret phenomena depending on our context. The same moon can appear vastly different depending on your perspective.
This Friday morning will also reveal a total lunar eclipse. As the moon aligns behind the Earth, our planet’s shadow will give the moon’s surface a reddish hue. From antiquity, cultures have called this a Blood Moon, and some of them deemed it a portent of doom (see Joel 2:31).
But there are other ways to consider a red moon. This Friday, March 14, is also Pi Day (3.14). Dean Martin sang of the moon “like a big pizza pie,” or it could be like a cherry pie—my favorite.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of the book with Wipf and Stock Publishers titled This Is the Day: A Year of Observing Unofficial Holidays about Ampersands, Bobbleheads, Buttons, Cousins, Hairball Awareness, Humbugs, Serendipity, Star Wars, Teenagers, Tenderness, Walking to School, Yo-Yos, and More. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he is a student of joy.
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