The Harvest moon usually occurs in September, so most people think of it as the September full moon. The Harvest Moon is actually the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox on September 22. This year, the Harvest Moon fell in October since the full moons were September 2 and October 2.

Since the Harvest Moon is in October this year, what happens to the Hunter’s Moon? The Hunter’s Moon is usually the full moon of October. But the full moon following the Harvest Moon is called the Hunter’s Moon, so this year the full moon of November is the Hunter’s Moon.

Through history, people used the full moons to keep track of cyclical events, like changing seasonal conditions. Some of the names for the moons used in the Sky News are American Indian names, some are colonial, and some are of unknown origin. Most of the names do not change year to year. However, the Harvest Moon and the Hunter’s Moon have different rules since they are based on the autumnal equinox.

Farmers gathering their crops during the Harvest Moon don’t have time to do anything else! The light of the full moon allowed the farmers to harvest their crops until very late at night. The next full moon after their crops were harvested would be good for hunting before the weather got too cold. They could stock their meat supplies for the winter.