Sunday, June 3, 2012

Full Moon On June 4, 2012 - Strawberry Moon & Vesak Moon

Without a doubt the full Moon is the most dramatic sights in the night sky.


For millennia the full Moon fascinates us as many lovers well know and draw inspiration to artists and poets and humans have used the movement of the moon to kept track of the changing seasons and set schedules for harvesting and planting.
Ancient cultures over the world have given distinctive names to the recurring full Moons, so different full moon names can be found among the Native American, Celtic, Old English, Buddhist and Chinese to name a few, based on the behavior of the weather, plants and animals during that month and their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.
So the next full Moon on June 4 having many names around the world.
Strawberry Moon was the name gived by the Native American Algonquian tribes because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during this month and now this is the most popular name of June full Moon in North America and used also by people of the United Kindgom countries although the most popular name in English is Flower Moon.

 Image from First People US

Other names are Rose Moon, Honey Moon, Planting Moon and Hot Moon, reflecting a specific feature of the nature in June.
Full Moon days are sacred according to Buddhist tradition and called Uposatha (Buddhist Sabbath) in Pali, which is a lingua franca in the Buddhist community.
The Vesak Moon date varies according to the various calendars used in different Buddhist tradition. So many Buddhists who not already have celebrated the Vesak in the May, will celebrate in the June full Moon.
The Vesak (or Vesākha, in Pali language from Sanskrit but also Buddha Purnima, Vaishaka) is a holy day for all Buddhists communities.
Also informally called the Buddha’s Birthday the Vesak day celebrate the birth, enlightenment and dead of the Buddha.

Image from Samui Art Gallery

Some Buddhist countries have the traditional Vesak relate holy day in other months of the year, although most of the Vesak Moon falls in the 5th or 6th lunar month. So the holy day was celebrated on May 5 and 6, in countries such Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia and it will be celebrate on June 4 in countries such Thailand where the people know the same day as “Visakha Bucha Day” (“Visakha Puja Day”) and it means the worship of the Buddha on the full Moon day of the sixth lunar month.


The celebration in Thailand provides abstinence from alcoholic drinks and all kinds of immoral acts (Rub Sil), practice of renunciation and mental discipline observing the Eight Precepts wearing white clothes, going to temples from Buddhists rituals (Tum Boon) and offering food to the monks (Tuk Bard), and attending the Candle Light Procession (Vien Tien) in the evening of the Vesak Day.

Related Links:
Article published at Koh Samui, Koh Phangan & Full Moon Party - Read the full article, HERE.

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