September Full Moon: Corn Moon

The full moon will occur in Pisces after midnight tonight (9/8) at 3:08 a.m.

The September full moon is usually the Harvest Moon, which corresponds to the mid-autumn moon in Japanese, but the Harvest Moon is defined as the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Since this year the October full moon is closer, the September full moon is not the Harvest Moon.

The September full moon (and its entire lunar cycle) is called the Corn Moon. It is the time when corn is ready to be harvested. There are also terms like Corn Maker Moon and Corn Harvest Moon, but when you think of corn, don't you think of summer vegetables?

Since I started shopping at natural food stores, I have noticed that there are items that differ from what I consider to be in season. For example, green peas. At the supermarket, they appear early around the end of February, and for me, pea rice, a staple in our home, was an image of the arrival of spring, but at natural food stores, green peas appear in early summer.

Corn first appeared at the natural food store this year last week. Of course, there are differences in harvest times between Japan and the US, but at least in the US, it seems that the corn season is from the end of August to September.

There is also a long name, the Moon When Rice is Laid Up to Dry. It is the rice-drying moon, but when I started looking up the names of full moons, I learned for the first time that North American indigenous peoples grew rice. It seems that agriculture was introduced to North America around the end of the 17th century.

Speaking of which, today I peeked into a rice ball shop that opened in the neighborhood for the first time, and they said they use local new rice, so I had this year's rice early. It was delicious with no off-flavors. Thank you, thank you.🙏

Other names for the September full moon besides Corn Moon

There is a long list of words for autumn leaves, but in Japan, the autumn foliage season is still far off, while in North America, it seems to be from the end of September to early October in many places.

Well, tonight there will be a total lunar eclipse for the first time in about three years. It will start to wane at 1:27 a.m., and it will be a total eclipse between 2:30 and 3:53. If the weather is good, it seems it can be seen all over the country, so it might be a good idea to stay up a little late to watch the astronomical show and take some time to forget the worries of this world.

QP's One-Point English Vocabulary

During a total lunar eclipse, the moon shines in a copper-red color. Because of this color, it is called a Blood Moon, and words such as red, coppery, and coppery red are used to describe this color. The verb for shining is glow, and glow + color adjective means 'to shine in a certain color.' On the other hand, to describe how it is shining, you can use glow + adverb, for example, 'The moon is glowing beautifully.'

Are you going to watch the late night astronomical show tonight? If so, I hope you can watch it clearly. If not, have a good night's sleep!