April’s full Moon will look full tonight, but will actually reach peak illumination just after midnight at 12:27 a.m. EDT (April 6th.) This year, April’s full Moon is the first full Moon of the spring season, which began with the spring equinox on March 20, 2023.
That means that April’s full Moon is the Paschal Full Moon — an important Moon for Easter, since Easter’s date depends on the date of the Paschal Full Moon.
Full Moon names come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred — not only to the full Moon.
So why is this month’s the full Pink Moon? Actually, it’s not the color of the Moon — April’s full Moon often corresponded with the early springtime blooms of a certain wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata — commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox — which also went by the name “moss pink.” Due to this seasonal association, this full Moon came to be called the “Pink” Moon.
Other names for the April Moon that you probably haven’t heard include these from various Native Americans: Breaking Ice Moon (Algonquin,) Moon of the Red Grass Appearing (Oglala,) Moon When the Ducks Come Back (Lakota,) Moon When the Geese Lay Eggs (Dakota,) Frog Moon (Cree,) and the Sucker Moon, that notes the time to harvest sucker fish, which return to streams or lake shallows to spawn. According to legend, now is the time when this fish comes back from the spirit world to purify bodies of water and the creatures living in them.
Full Moons supposedly effect some people’s behavior, but a full Moon can also determine your luck….
It’s lucky to have a full Moon on the “Moon day” (Monday) but it’s unlucky to have full Moon on Sunday.
So if the skies are clear and the weather is warm, I think tonight’s full Pink Moon should be lucky….
— 30 —