Snow Moon and Full Moon Myths

February's first full moon will fall this coming Tues, Feb 7th 2012, 

also known as THE SNOW MOON.

Snow moon or Full Snow moon is a traditional name for the full moon that occurs in February in North America. Usually this month is a time for snow and cold air temperatures, and this is the reason for the name snow moon.  

Storm moon, hunger moon, Little Famine moon, and Full Bony moon are other traditional names for this particular full moon.

Studies of full moon effects

Here are some of the reputable studies in peer-reviewed journals that have failed to find connections:

EPILEPSY: A study in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior in 2004 found no connection between epileptic seizures and the full moon, even though some patients believe their seizures to be trigged by the full moon. The researchers noted that epileptic seizures were once blamed on witchcraft and possession by demons, contributing to a longstanding human propensity to find mythical rather than medical explanations.

PSYCHIATRIC VISITS: A 2005 study by Mayo Clinic researchers, reported in the journal Psychiatric Services, looked at how many patients checked into a psychiatric emergency department between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. over several years. They found no statistical difference in the number of visits on the three nights surrounding full moons vs. other nights.

EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS: Researchers examined 150,999 records of emergency room visits to a suburban hospital. Their study, reported in American Journal of Emergency Medicine in 1996, found no difference at full moon vs. other nights.

SURGERY OUTCOMES: Do doctors and nurses mess up more during the full moon? Not according to a study in the October 2009 issue of the journal Anesthesiology. In fact, researchers found the risks are the same no matter what day of the week or time of the month you schedule your coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Not all studies dismiss lunar influence.

PET INJURIES: In studying 11,940 cases at the Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center, researchers found the risk of emergency room visits to be 23 percent higher for cats and 28 percent higher for dogs on days surrounding full moons. It could be people tend to take pets out more during the full moon, raising the odds of an injury, or perhaps something else is at work — the study did not determine a cause.

 

ANIMALS GONE WILD: A pair of conflicting studies in the British Medical Journal in 2001 leaves room for further research. In one of the studies, animal bites were found to have sent twice as many British people to the emergency room during full moons compared with other days. But in the other study, in Australia, dogs were found to bite people with similar frequency on any night.

 MENSTRUATION: This is one of those topics on which you will find much speculation (some of it firm and convincing-sounding) and little evidence. The idea is that the moon is full every month and women menstruate monthly. Here's the thing: Women's menstrual cycles actually vary in length and timing — in some cases greatly — with the average being about every 28 days, while the lunar cycle is quite set at 29.5 days. Still, there is one study (of just 312 women), by Winnifred B. Cutler in 1980, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, that claims a connection. Cutler found 40 percent of participants had the onset of menstruation within two weeks of the full moon (which means 60 percent didn't). If anyone can tell me how this oft-cited study proves anything, I'm all ears. Also, one should be skeptical that in the intervening 29 years, nobody seems to have produced a study supporting Cutler's claim.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION: In the Journal of Affective Disorders in 1999, researchers suggested that before modern lighting, "the moon was a significant source of nocturnal illumination that affected [the] sleep–wake cycle, tending to cause sleep deprivation around the time of full moon." They speculated that "this partial sleep deprivation would have been sufficient to induce mania/hypomania in susceptible bipolar patients and seizures in patients with seizure disorders." Best I can discern, however, these oft-cited suggestions have never been tested or verified with any numbers or rigorous study of any kind.

Sources:

Wikipedia
Full Moon Myths

Year of the Dragon 2012

Tomorrow, January 23rd, marks another New Moon, it also marks the Chinese New Year!

In Chinese tradition, each year is dedicated to a specific animal. The Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Rat, Boar, Rabbit, Dog, Rooster, Ox, Tiger, Snake, and Ram are the twelve animals that are part of this tradition. In 2012, the Dragon is welcomed back after the 2011 year of the Rabbit. Each of these animals are thought to bestow their characteristics to the people born in their year.

 While the Year of the Rabbit was characterized by calm and tranquility, the Year of the Dragon will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. The Rabbit imbues people with a sense of cautious optimism, but people respond to the spirit of the Dragon with energy, vitality and unbridled enthusiasm, often throwing all caution to the wind.

STORY OF CHINESE NEW YEAR

 

Being familiar with the Chinese New Year story helps explain the use of  loud firecrackers in the Chinese New Year parade. The story also sheds light on the Chinese tradition of hanging bright red chun lian around the doors of their homes during the New Year. The fifteen day celebration, which is also known as the Spring Festival, takes place between the 1st and the 15th day of each New Year.

Nian and the Jade Emperor of Heaven

It is said that a hideous monster by the name of Nian terrorized the ancient peoples of China. Although the Nian lived in the mountainous regions of the country, it entered villages when hungry and devoured both humans and their beasts in one bite. The people tried to defend themselves; however they were no match for the Nian.

 The Monster, Nian

The Jade Emperor of Heaven, seeing that the Nian held the potential for destroying all of humanity, wisely prohibited the Nian from leaving its home in the mountains except for the 1st and 15th day of each New Year. During those days the Nian would consume those who had failed to shut themselves safely away in their homes.

 In some versions there was a wise old man who provided a solution; in other versions the old man is actually a god sent from Heaven to help the villagers; and in yet another telling the villagers themselves devise a plan for getting rid of the Nian. No matter who is credited with providing the plan, the solution is always the same and involved scaring the monster with loud sounds, fire and the color red.

The villagers created a lot of noise by banging drums and symbols. They hung firecrackers on the ends of bamboo poles to confuse the Nian with fire and even more noise. The villagers also painted their homes red to frighten the monster.

The plan was a success, but the exact details differ from one story to the next. In one the Nian was so frightened he fled to the mountains and never returned. A second version tells of the Nian fleeing while the villagers pursued and eventually killed the Nian. Either way, the villagers were victorious and had reason to celebrate.

CHINESE DRAGON DANCE TRADITION

During the Chinese New Year, the Dragon Dance is one of the most anticipated events of the holiday. In the Chinese culture, dragons are frightening in appearance and yet benevolent in character. They are believed to possess supernatural powers and are capable of bringing good luck, life-giving rain, fertility, dignity and wisdom. It is also the symbol of imperial authority

DRAGON SIGN

Born on the following years:

1904 * 1916 * 1928 * 1940 * 1952 * 1964 * 1976 * 1988 * 2000

People born under the Dragon are passionate, brave and self-assured. At their best they are pioneering spirits; at their worst, they epitomize the old adage: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Dragons are generous with their resources, a tendency that at its most negative can reflect a foolhardy attitude towards money. But Dragons in general are blessed with good fortune. They are smart, enterprising and have a wicked sense of humor. They have a natural flair for fashion and are the people to consult if you want to catch up on the latest trends.

More on the zodiac sign of the Dragon here

WATER DRAGON

This Chinese New Year 2012 ushers in the Water Dragon. Water exerts a calming influence on the Dragon’s innate fire. Water Dragons are more open to other people’s opinions than other Dragons which gives them the ability to channel their personal charisma into real leadership qualities.

USA CELEBRATION OF CHINESE NEW YEAR

In the United States, parades and fireworks displays are very common, particularly in the cities with a rather large Chinese population. For example, in both San Francisco and Chicago, a long ‘dragon’ is paraded through the city streets as part of the celebrations. One can also attend cultural events and exhibitions.

 Celebration in San Francisco

So while admiring the New Moon, if you can spot her, also take part in your own celebration of the Chinese New Year!

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

• Clean House - Before the New Year arrives, the Chinese consider it very important to give the house a thorough cleaning, sweeping away any bad luck that may have accumulated over the past year.
• Decorate! - Doors and window panes are also often painted red, considered to be a lucky color. In addition, people like to hang papercuts on doors and windows. (Paper cutting is an ancient Chinese art form dating back to the Han dynasty).
• Don't clean for the first few days of the New Year - if you do any sweeping during this time, you risk sweeping away your good luck.
• Offer a Sacrifice to the Kitchen God - Many families have a poster of the Kitchen God in their kitchen. The custom is to offer a ceremonial sacrifice to the Kitchen God, to make sure that he gives a good report on the family's behavior when he returns to heaven. Sticky Cake (Nian Gao) is popular, or children may rub honey on him.
• An important tradition on New Year's Eve is for families to gather together and spend the evening preparing Chinese dumplings (Jiaozi). According to Chinese Culture Guide Jun Shan, it is common to hide a coin in one of the dumplings. Whoever gets the dumpling with the coin will supposedly have good luck in the coming year.
• Give out money packets - On New Years day, children receive leisee - red packets decorated with gold symbols and filled with "lucky money".
• Serve festive foods - Throughout the New Years season, certain foods are served because they symbolize abundance and good fortune. Besides preparing special dishes, tangerines and oranges are often passed out to children and guests, as they symbolize wealth and good luck.
• Prepare a Tray of Togetherness - This is a circular or octagon-shaped tray with eight compartments, each containing symbolic foods such as lotus seeds and lychee nuts, that provides a sweet beginning to the New Year.

 Credits to:

 http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/a/newyearlegends_2.htm

 http://chinesenewyear2012.net/

 

Lunar Ring & Wolf Moon

The other night I walked outside into the warm, almost spring-like air, looked up to gaze at the moon and saw an amazing thing - a Lunar Ring circling the moon!

Just as you see in the above photo, the moon appears to have a ring around it. This phenomenon is called a Lunar Halo.

The Anatomy of a Lunar Halo:   
                          A Halo is the result of moonlight reflecting off of millions of tiny ice crystals within thin cirrus clouds, about 20,000 ft above your head. Depending on your position/angle in respect to the moon, each person's view of a Lunar Halo is unique!



Click here to listen to a Lunar Halo audio clip

So far this New Year 2012 I have seen four nights of Lunar Halos of varying degrees! I captured a few on camera, which I may upload later :)

________________________________________________________________________________

FULL WOLF MOON

The first full moon of the New Year is upon us!!

In myth and folklore the full moon of each month is given a name. There are many variations, but in the USA the following list gives the most widely known names:

• January - Wolf moon
• February - Ice moon
• March - Storm moon
• April - Growing moon
• May - Hare moon
• June - Flower moon
• July - Hay moon
• August - Corn moon
• September - Harvest moon
• October - Hunter's moon
• November - Snow moon
• December - Winter moon

January marks the Wolf Moon - "Native Americans chose this name because they heard hungry wolf packs howl outside the villages. This full moon is also known as the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule."

Wolf Moon


 Interesting facts about wolves and the moon:

The connection between wolves howling "at" the moon is not scientifically proven, but it is possible wolves are more vocal during a full moon, simply because they may be out and about more due to the fact they can see better with moonlight. Wolves howl up towards the sky to pronounce their sound over a greater distance. During winter months, wolves are known to howl more frequently because this is their mating season. Also, in the winter months we are able to notice the moon better than other seasons because there's less cloud coverage and the moon's positioning is grouped with other bright star clusters, drawing our eye to it.

 Owwwwww!!!!!! Happy Wolf Moon!