The Pink Moon
April's full moon
First bloom, growth, return
The April full moon, and the name that most reliably disappoints people: the moon is not pink and never was. It is named for Phlox subulata — moss phlox or creeping phlox, an eastern North American wildflower and one of the earliest to bloom. The 1937 English list called this the Egg Moon instead, and the Paschal Moon is the one that sets the date of Easter.
Where the name actually comes from
The honest attribution
The Egg Moon of the 1937 English list; 'Pink' entered later. Named for moss phlox, an eastern North American wildflower — not for the moon's colour.
Also called: Egg Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Paschal Moon.
How it tends to be kept
- Traditionally marks the first widespread bloom of the northern spring
- Many people mark it as the moon of planting and starting
- As the Paschal Moon, it is the full moon that fixes the date of Easter
Questions the month asks
- What is finally blooming?
- What did I plant that I'd forgotten about?
- What deserves my attention now that it's growing?
Prompts are invitations to notice, not assignments — tradition offered as tradition.