Shine on, Harvest Moon

Friday night, one of the brightest and most beautiful events graced the sky above us, the Harvest Moon.

According to the Old Farmers Almanac, the Harvest Moon is different from all other named full moons in our calendar because it’s not associated with a specific month. It takes the stage with the timing of the autumnal equinox, which is Sept. 22 this year.  The equinox can come this month or in October.

The name of the moon comes from Europe, according to astronomer Guy Ottewell, because the brightness and clarity of its light, gave farmers (young and old) more time each night to harvest than on regular moonlit nights.

The Chinese also celebrate the Harvest Moon, the Old Farmer tells us, with families gathering for games and the making and eating of ”mooncakes,” made with flour, egg yolks, and sweet syrup.

What’s for  breakfast?

Poets have been moon-maddened since the first one looked up at night, writing about the beauty and mystery the moon presents. “Shine on, shine on Harvest Moon” is a tune once heard, will never leave you.

A newer version from that early 20th Century standard, by Neil Young in 1992, is also evocative of the sense we have under the Harvest Moon’s light:

“Come a little bit closer/ Hear what I have to say/ Just like children sleepin’/ We could dream this night away/ But there’s a full moon risin’/ Let’s go dancin’ in the light …/ Let’s go out and feel the night/ Because I’m still in love with you …/ On this Harvest Moon.”