Meaning Behind the Beaver Moon and Other Full Moon Names

We hear them called the Beaver Moon, or the Cold Moon. What does this mean? Is it just a nickname or something more? And what are other moon-names?

Often, we'll see something that proclaims that "The Beaver Moon" is happening. But what is that all about?

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Moon Phases (Image: Canva)

Cultures Named the Full Moons

First, we define what we're talking about here. These are nicknames given to the full moon we see each month. Before the widespread adoption of the modern calendar, many cultures tracked time by the moon. It is an easy-to-follow system. The moon phases are the same each cycle, roughly a month, so tracking time from one moon to another was a universally understood way of organizing people and activities.

How the Lunar Cycle Shapes Timekeeping

The moon phases are the reflection of sunlight off the moon's surface. Depending on where the moon is in orbit in relation to the sun creates the effect we see. From the New Moon, when there is very little light reflected, through the partial phases when we can see the various shapes, until the Full Moon, when the whole of the part of the moon we can see is illuminated. When this happens, the Earth, Moon, and Sun are in perfect alignment.

What is a Blue Moon?

It takes the moon 29.5 days to go through all its phases in orbit, and 354 days to do it 12 times in a year. That leaves this a little short on our modern calendars. So every so often we'll get a month that has two full moons, and that second one is called a Blue Moon.

What is a Super Moon?

A Super Moon is a full moon that happens at the point in the Moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth. That makes it look especially big and bright in the sky. There will be a super Moon on Thursday, 4 December 2025, and one in 2026 on
Thursday, December 24.

Full moons are something special, almost like a second sun lighting up the night. Over the centuries, many cultures have given these moons names. The names we use in the US are said to come from various Native American cultures by way of early European settlers.

Full Moon Names Through the Year

Find Out What Your Birth Month Flower Is

Did you know that you have a birth flower? Yep, we all do. I knew about birthstones but didn't know about the flowers that went with your birth month.

According to the Farmers Almanac, the tradition of birth flowers has been around for a long time. The tradition may even go back to the Romans.

Like one's zodiac sign, some believe that a birth flower represents personality and emotions.

So if you want to impress someone. here's a list so you can get them a bouquet of their birth flower.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns