Full Flower Moon

The name derives from the plentiful sprouting flowers and budding fertility of the land that takes place at this time of year, coinciding with the beginning of summer and the widespread celebrations taking place up and down the country during the merry month of May. Throughout many of these celebrations, flowers are picked and carefully arranged into garlands, such as during the Castleton Garland day celebrations, where a man on horseback wears a large Garland and marches through the streets followed by his consort, now a woman, but traditionally a man dressed in drag. The use of garlands are believed by many to hark back to ancient nature worship, where fertility rites were performed and sacrifices were made to appease the gods. Tonight is also a rare occurrence as it also a blue moon, although the moon will not actually appear blue, it is instead referencing the fact that it is the fourth full moon of the season, when usually there are only three full moons in a season, the next blue moon won’t appear in our skies until the year 2021, hence the expression ‘Once in a blue moon’.