Well, yesterday we got October off to festive start by celebrating the Moon Festival. The first full Moon of fall occurred last night — the Harvest Moon. Of course 2020 being what it is, we’ll get a second full Moon this month — on Halloween, no less. That second Moon will be the Hunter’s Moon, as well as the Halloween Moon and a Blue Moon.
October was originally the eighth month of the Roman calendar. It’s name comes from the Latin word “octo” that means eight. (It became the 10th month when January and February were added to the calendar.)
This is the second month of Autumn. When I was in school, we always had a fire drill during the month of October. I was told that October was chosen because the Great Chicago Fire occurred in October of 1871. In a normal year, the leaves usually begin to change color this month and normally the World Series would be played and the NBA and NHL usually begin their seasons. Since this is 2020 we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
And of course October has its share of wise old sayings….
When deer are in a gray coat in October, expect a hard winter.
A warm October means a cold February.
Much rain in October, much wind in December.
In October dung your field, and your land its wealth shall yield.
So there you have it — Happy October.
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