01 January 2015
The Short Answer (TSA)
January’s
full moon is, sometimes, called the “Full Wolf Moon.” The “Wolf Moon” describes not just the full
moon, but the period of about a month, or 29 days, extending from the new moon
to the next new moon. If the full moon
coming in the middle of this period, also, falls in the month of January, it is
called the “Full Wolf Moon.”
It seems
like almost all of the full moon names bring a discussion (or argument) about
where the name came from and what exactly it means. But the origin and meaning of the “Full Wolf
Moon” seems certain.
The name
“Full Wolf Moon” originated with the population native to the northern part of
North America. With the deep snows of
midwinter, wolf packs roamed in search of food.
At night, in Native American villages, the wolves could be heard howling
and, certainly, hungry. And, at the time of January’s full moon, the
wolves would have been more visible than ever.
Wolves get
“a bad rap” in the sense that, in North America, wolf attacks on human beings
are quite rare. Most historical attacks
are thought to be the result of the wolf being in the late stages of a rabies
infection and, therefore, displaying extreme aggression toward everything in
its environment.
Native
American oral tradition recounted instances of human beings attacked by wolves. But only in the last 50 years have actual attacks on humans, by otherwise
healthy wolves, been documented. Still, North
American attacks are rare with a total of only about three fatal attacks from healthy wolves on
record.
Surprisingly,
North American wolves have always tended to avoid humans. This is thought to be because human beings
walk on two instead of four feet. We
share our two-footed walk with the bear, an animal wolves carefully avoid. Also, over several generations, wolves are thought
to have “learned” of the danger of human hunters with firearms.
Oddly, a
human being is most likely to be attacked by a wolf if the animal is
comfortable with humans and unafraid. Apparently, when wolves are in close
relationships with human beings, familiarity does breed contempt.
At any
rate, Native American tribes in the northern parts of North America had already
given the January full moon the name “Full Wolf Moon” by the time the first
European settlers arrived. The colonial
farmers picked up the name “Full Wolf Moon,” which became one of the standard
North American full moon names found in the old and new Farmers’ Almanac.
Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville,
Illinois
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