Strawberry Moon: June's full moon

Where the name Strawberry Moon comes from

Wild strawberries ripen in early summer, and their picking season is short. Both the Old Farmer’s Almanac (New Hampshire) and the Farmers’ Almanac (Maine), two separate publications, explain June’s full moon name that way.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the name was used by Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples, among others. For the Ojibwe, there is independent support. Indian Country Today (ICT), a Native-run news outlet, lists Ode’imini-giizis, which it translates as the Time for Picking Strawberry Moon.

The Dakota have support from a Native source too. ICT’s Dakota list, from a University of Minnesota language page, gives Wažúšteča šá wí, the Strawberries Ripening Moon, and the Oneida name for June is simply “Strawberry.” The same article shows why a single list misleads: the 1890s Cherokee seminary calendar calls March the Strawberry Moon and June the Violet Moon.

Even so, “Strawberry Moon” is best described as one English name that almanacs chose for June, not part of a single Native American list. That list was put together by almanacs from Indigenous, colonial and European sources. Indigenous moon names varied from nation to nation and usually named a lunar month, not one night. See the full moon names overview for how the common list formed.

Other names for June’s full moon

The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists these, each with the nation it credits. The attributions are the almanac’s, not independently confirmed.

• Berries Ripen Moon: Haida.
• Blooming Moon: Anishinaabe.
• Green Corn Moon: Cherokee.
• Hoer Moon: Western Abenaki, for hoeing the crops.
• Birth Moon: Tlingit.
• Egg Laying Moon and Hatching Moon: Cree.
• Hot Moon: recorded by the explorer Jonathan Carver in the 18th century from Native peoples he visited.

Two of these overlap with other months. Green Corn Moon is also used for August, as NASA noted when quoting the Maine Farmers’ Almanac. Egg Laying Moon also appears in the almanac’s May list. That kind of drift is normal when names describe what is happening in nature rather than a fixed date.

What makes the Strawberry Moon notable

June’s full moon is the lowest-riding full moon of the year for the United States. NASA explains that a full moon lies on the far side of Earth from the Sun. Around the June solstice, the Sun reaches its highest midday point of the year, so the full moon takes the opposite, lowest path. It rises in the southeast, skims low across the south and sets in the southwest, and it is usually up for a shorter time than any other full moon.

That low path has a side effect people often notice. The Moon spends its whole night in thicker air near the horizon, so it can look warm yellow or amber for longer than usual after rising. From the northern US, where June twilight is long, the Strawberry Moon may rise while the sky is still quite bright.

How to watch the Strawberry Moon

The table above shows moonrise for major cities on the evening when the Moon is closest to full. Because it rises far to the south of east in June, choose a spot with a clear southeast horizon, and check that trees or buildings will not hide such a low Moon.

The rising Moon will look enormous. NASA calls this the Moon illusion and points out that the Moon is no larger on the horizon. It is actually slightly farther from you there than when it is high in the sky. Hold your thumb or fingernail at arm’s length to compare, or look through a rolled-up sheet of paper so you see the Moon without the landscape. It shrinks instantly.

Long, mild evenings make June an easy month for a Moon walk with children. To see the summer Milky Way instead, pick a night a week or two away from full moon. Our city sky pages show those darker nights.