AN eerie 'Worm Moon' which takes its mysterious name from ancient folklore shone brightly over Worcester last night.
The full Worm Moon reached its peak in the morning hours captured in this striking image by Colin Allen of the Worcester News Camera Club.
It was the last full moon of the winter according to the Farmer's Almanac, earning its name from Native American folklore about the end of winter and the beginning of Spring.
The Maine Farmers' Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons in the 1930s and these names are now widely known and used.
The more southern tribes called this lunar phase the Worm Moon after the earthworm casts that appeared as the ground thawed.
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The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac 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.
According to the Almanac: "March’s full Moon goes by the name Worm Moon. For many years, we thought this name referred to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring.
"This invites robins and other birds to feed—a true sign of spring!
"However, more research revealed another explanation. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes and wrote that the name Worm Moon refers to a different sort of “worm”—beetle larvae—which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time."
One resident of Warndon Villages said: "I was struck by how bright and yellowish the moon looked. It illuminated all the rooftops. For a moment it seemed like the sun had risen at night."
Historically, month names are names of moons (lunations, not necessarily full moons) in lunisolar calendars.
Since the introduction of the solar Julian calendar in the Roman Empire, and later the Gregorian calendar worldwide, people no longer perceive month names as "moon" names.
Some full moons have developed new names in modern times, such as "blue moon", as well as "harvest moon" and "hunter's moon" for the full moons of autumn.
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