Full Moon Festival - My New Years Eve Tradition

Near the first of every month there is a full moon.  From full moon through its cycle to full moon again is one month. In fact when Native Americans said "many moons ago" they were saying many months ago. Today there are two traditional New moon festivals. One is celebrated by those of Jewish faith. It is a remembrance of an ancient festival tradition. They say a blessing on the Sabbath and recite some psalms on the night of the new moon. It is a joyful and deeply religious custom.

The other is a Chinese celebration held in late September or October during the harvest moon. They have lighted lanterns, moon cakes, and it is often a family reunion. It is a time to look at the moon, remember people who are far away, and take comfort knowing that they are looking at the same moon.

From these traditions I have created a New Years celebration for my family which I named the "Full Moon Festival". Every New Years eve we set up a little table outside on our porch, light a bunch of candles, and when it is dark we sit and watch the moon rise. I make sure everyone is bundled up well. We drink hot cider, eat hot soup or chili, and hot apple pie. We take turns telling stories that we remember from when the children were babies, or about our parents, or about ourselves. My hope is that through this tradition these stories will be passed down from generation to generation. Once the moon has risen and we are out of stories we take a moment to pray for the coming year. Then we retreat back inside to the warmth of the house and watch a ball drop on TV, somehow feeling wiser than and closer than we were before.

There are a ton of references to the New moon festival (new moon meant full moon) in the Bible if you are interested in the history. Here are some of them: Ezra 3:5, 1 Sam ch. 20, 2 Kings 4:23, 1 Chron 23:31, 2 Chron 2:4, 18:13, 31:3, Isaiah 1:13, 66:22-23, & Ezekiel 45:17, 46:1, 46:3, 46:6.

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