7 August 2014
The Short Answer (TSA)
The “Sturgeon Moon” is the Full Moon that happens in the month of August. Only rarely are there more than one Full Moon in a particular month. There are several different names given to the Full Moon belonging to each month. The Farmer’s Almanac is the source of the name “Sturgeon Moon” for August’s Full Moon.
But the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” got the name from Native American tribes. The first European settlers in colonial American lived in what is now the Northeastern United States. For the fishing Native Algonquin tribes of that region, the August Full Moon was the “Sturgeon Moon.” The tribes picked the name because August was a good month for catching large fish, like the sturgeon, in the Great (and other large) Lakes.
A Sturgeon
Other tribes in other regions had other names for the August Full Moon. But The Farmers Almanac picked-up the name “Sturgeon Moon” and it stuck. Many almanacs and other listings of American names for the Full Moons still favor “Sturgeon Moon” for the month of August.
By the way, this August wasn’t one of those rare months with two Full Moons. But what would have happened if a particular month of August had two instead of just one Full Moon?
The first Full Moon would be called the “Sturgeon Moon.” The second Full Moon wouldn’t have a special month-related name. A second Full Moon is so rare that it’s called a “blue moon.” A “blue moon” isn’t blue in color. The name “blue moon” is used to describe something that very rarely happens – like two Full Moons in a single month. The phrase, “Once in a blue moon” is used to mean “rarely” — only once in a very great while.
M Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois
Lots of Moons & Music 