On Thursday, April 6, 2023, the full moon of this month, the Pink Moon, will be the closest to the brilliant star Spica. The moon will be bright and full on Wednesday and Friday.
According to Timeanddate.com, the pink phlox wildflowers, which are native to North America and usually bloom in April, inspired the nickname “Pink Moon” for the April full moon.
The Breaking Ice Moon, Budding Moon, Awakening Moon, and Egg Moon are other names for the April full moon. The Great Lakes region’s Anishinaabeg or Ojibwe Indigenous people refer to it as Popogami Giizis or Broken Snowshoe Moon, according to the Institute for Native American Studies.
Due to its associations with religious events, this month’s full moon is frequently called the Pesach, Passover, or Paschal Moon. Passover, a Jewish festival, begins at nightfall on April 5 and lasts until it becomes dark on April 13 in 2023.
The date of the Paschal Moon is used to determine the date of Easter because it is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Easter in Western Christianity will be celebrated on April 9, 2023, the Sunday after the Pink Moon. According to NASA, the Eastern Orthodox Easter will occur on Sunday, April 16, one week later.
The Hindu lunisolar calendar’s Hanuman Jayanti holiday falls on this full moon, while Sri Lanka’s Buddhists observe Bak Poya.
After the Pink Moon, the following full moon will occur on May 5. This Flower Moon, also known as the Corn Planting Moon and the Milk Moon, will induce a penumbral lunar eclipse when it passes through Earth’s outer shadow in orbit.
