Full Moon and Then Some

Years ago, Native American tribes in the far north assigned names to the full Moon, based on the weather and seasonal events. Some of these names are still used today. The northern tribes knew today's full moon as the  'Crow Moon', when the cawing of the crows signalled the end of winter. It is also called the 'Crust Moon' because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. To early American settlers, it was called the 'Lenten Moon' and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter. 

In many cultures, it was known as the 'Worm Moon' because, as the ground temperatures began to thaw, the earthworms returned. To the Choctaw it was known as the 'Big Famine' moon as this was the time supplies were exhausted. And, to the Sioux, the March moon was 'When Eyes Are Sore from Bright Snow'. This is because of the reflection of the light of the sun on the fallen snow.

Today is also International Women's Day, a day that has been set aside to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations  Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.  

It was in 1908 that 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding  improvements in poor working conditions, shorter hours, better pay and voting rights resulting in the formation of the first American Women's union.  Then, in 1909 this strike was commemorated by the socialist party of America, and, finally, in 1910 at the socialist meeting in Copenhagen, it was voted that there should be a day to mark and support universal suffrage for women. And so it was that, in 1911, the  International Women’s Day was marked for the first time with groups of women and men demanding not only the right for women to vote but also women’s rights to work and to undertake vocational training.

  

Please light a candle today in  honor those women, our unsung heroes, who lost their lives throughout the years, such as the 140 women garment workers who died in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City because a lack of health and safety measures and locked factory exits forced the young immigrant women to jump from factory windows to their deaths to escape the flames.