March
Worm Moon
Sap rises and the ground thaws; also called the Worm Moon.
Also called
Sap Moon · Crow Moon · Lenten Moon
Origin of the name
Two images for a single thaw. In the sugar bush, the sap moon: freezing nights and mild days set the sweet water climbing, and it is tapping time. In the garden, the worm moon: the thawing ground is dotted with the little casts earthworms leave as they rise. Old Europe called it the Lenten moon, the last moon of winter.
The story goes…
It was said that the crows, who also lend March their name, announced the end of winter at the top of their voices. At our latitudes, it is the return of the earthworms that brings back the blackbirds and sets the gardens singing.
The almanac’s word
It is the full moon of spring that fixes Easter: the first Sunday after it. For seventeen centuries, this moon has governed the calendar.