by Sid Baglini
Saturday, April 12, 2025
7:15 P.M.
We’ve heard of Blue Moons (the 2nd of two full moons in one month) but this month, we celebrate The Full Pink Moon. That’s the most common name given to the full Moon that occurs during the first month of spring. However, just as with the Blue Moon, the color reference has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon. Instead, look to the ground for the origin of the name since April is when Phlox subulata, more commonly known as creeping phlox or moss phlox, displays its profuse pink blossoms. Once a common enough native plant to generate the name for a month’s worth of moons, it is now far more likely to be found in the gardens of Malvern.
The vigorous spring growth of plants generated other names such as “The Budding Moon of Plants and Shrubs” and the “Moon of the Red Grass Appearing”. There are also the fauna related names like “Frog Moon” (if we are lucky, we may hear spring peepers), “The Fish Moon” and the Moons “When the Geese Lay Eggs” and “When The Ducks Come Back.” From indigenous people living in colder climes, we have the images conjured by the “Ice Breaks Up Moon” and the “Moon When the Streams Are Again Navigable.”
The date of Easter is determined by “The Paschal Moon” which is the first Full Moon to occur after the spring equinox. Easter is always the Sunday after that lunar event. Then why, you may ask, isn’t Easter on the 13th instead of the 20th? Apparently, Easter is considered to begin at sundown the night before (when we will be walking) and Easter can’t begin until at least 24 hours after the Full Moon so following those rules, it is pushed off another week.
We hope you will join us for a stroll through the streets of Malvern as we celebrate spring, search for phlox, listen for peepers and enjoy good company. We meet behind Borough Hall and there is plenty of parking on 1st Avenue and Channing Avenue.