This Saturday there will be the first full moon of northern spring. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the traditional name for the April moon is the “pink moon”.
It derives from the fact that at this time of year in eastern North America, the Phlox subulata wild flower comes into bloom, spreading carpets of pink flowers across the ground.
Many other names are also known, based on what Indigenous inhabitants traditionally observe in April. For example, to the Algonquin people of Canada, who live along the Ottawa River, it is known as “breaking ice moon”.
This year, the pink full moon is also the Paschal full moon. The word derives from Pascha, which in Greek and Latin means Passover. This is the time of year that Christians believe Jesus was crucified and so the Paschal moon is used to fix the date of Easter, which occurs on the following Sunday.
The Paschal moon itself is defined as the first full moon after the spring equinox, which can take place any time between 19 and 21 March. To keep things simple, however, the Church defines “ecclesiastical equinox” as 21 March, so the Paschal full moon is alway the first full moon after 21 March.
