February
Snow Moon
The moon of the heaviest snows, when game grew scarce.
Also called
Hunger Moon · Storm Moon
Origin of the name
In North America, February is statistically the snowiest month of the year, and the almanacs named its moon accordingly. Its other name is harder, and tells the same season as seen from an empty larder — the hunger moon, when game lay low and people counted what was left in the granary.
The story goes…
It was said to be the moon of long evenings by the fire: the storm outside, the provisions stretched thin within. By late February the days are already lengthening, yet the cold reaches its deepest — the old folk knew that light always returns before warmth does.
The almanac’s word
"A snow year, a rich year," says the old proverb: snow shields the seedlings from frost and gives its water back to the soil, slowly.