The Moon

Share your Moon Stories- from your culture, religion, or legends that you have heard...

Here are a few that we found in class

Oaxaca, Mexico

Rabbit- Best known as the symbol of the moon. The rabbits profile fits the shape of the dark region of a full moon. Instead of a man in the moon the Zapotecs and Mayans saw a rabbit in the moon. The Mayan moon goddess was frequently depicted in art holding a rabbit.




Man in the Moon

The Man in the Moon is an imaginary figure resembling a human face, head or body, that observers from some cultural backgrounds typically perceive in the bright disc of the full moon.

"The Man in the Moon" can also refer to a mythological character said to live on or in the moon, but who is not necessarily represented by the markings on the face of the moon. An example is Yue-Laou, from Chinese tradition..

Yue-Laou, the "old man of the moonlight," is a figure in Chinese traditional prose and poetry. He appears at night, and "unites with a silken cord all predestined couples, after which nothing can prevent their union." [1] He is immortal[2] and is said to live either in the moon[3] or in the "obscure regions" (Yue ming), the Chinese equivalent of Hades. [4]

Catholicism

Easter Sunday is the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon (PFM) date for the year. In June 325 A.D. astronomers approximated astronomical full moon dates for the Christian church, calling them Ecclesiastical Full Moon (EFM) dates. From 326 A.D. the PFM date has always been the EFM date after March 20 (which was the equinox date in 325 A.D.)

In Catholic semiotics (symbols and significations) the moon usually represents mutability or change. This is not original to Catholicism; the moon has been used as the basis of religions, lunar calendars, time-keeping and superstitions since man looked to the sky. This is because the moon is constantly waxing and waning and moving through the sky.

Probably the most popular image in Catholic iconography depicting the moon is the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a miraculous image placed on the tilma (cloak) of Blessed Juan Diego by Our Lady Herself. In the image she is standing on the moon, the changeable things of this world, communicating to us not to trust in worldly things but rather in her patronage before God.