Why is April’s full moon called the Pink Moon?

After moss phlox, a pink flower that carpets the ground among the first of the North American spring. The farmers’ almanacs kept this seasonal marker: the name describes the flowering earth, not the color of the moon.

Why does the moon look enormous when it rises?

It’s the moon illusion: near the horizon, your brain compares the moon to the trees and rooftops, and it seems gigantic. Photograph it, measure it: its apparent diameter is the same as at the zenith. The effect is purely perceptual, and it has fascinated us since antiquity.

When is the full moon in April?

The date moves every year, because the lunar cycle of about 29.5 days doesn’t line up with our months. The exact dates for the current lunation appear at the top of this page; the next-full-moon page keeps the countdown.

Lunar calendar · April

The moon in April April

April is the month when the nights lose ground before your eyes: the evenings stretch out, the air softens, and the moon rises over a world bursting into bloom. The farmers’ almanacs call its full moon the Pink Moon, not for its color but for the pink phlox that carpets the ground in early spring. A lunar month of momentum, where everything grows faster than you expected.

The essentials

Traditional full moon: Pink Moon: from the pink moss phlox that flowers early in spring in the farmers’ almanacs, not from the color of the moon
Season: spring settled in (northern hemisphere), the evenings stretch out fast
Keyword for the month: momentum

What’s the lunar mood in April?

In April, watching the moon becomes an outdoor pleasure again. The evenings are mild enough to linger outside, night falls later and later, and the full moon’s rising slides toward dinner time. The set has changed: it no longer climbs over bare branches but over trees in blossom, and its light filters through the first leaves.

It’s a moody month in the weather sense of the word: showers, rinsed skies, dramatic clear spells. Between two downpours, the washed air gives nights of surprising clarity; April’s finest moons often arrive just after the rain.

Is the Pink Moon actually pink?

No, and that’s the whole story of the name. In the North American farmers’ almanacs, April’s full moon owes its name to moss phlox, a small, vivid-pink flower that carpets the ground among the first of spring. It’s the earth that turns pink in April, not the sky.

The moon itself can take on warm tints at moonrise or moonset: as long as it skims the horizon, its light crosses a thickness of atmosphere that filters out the blue and lets the orange through. Golden, coppery, sometimes reddish: yes. Candy pink: never. The name is a seasonal postcard, not a description.

What gentle rituals suit this lunar month?

April invites you to take the ritual outdoors. The first meal eaten outside this year, timed for an evening of waxing moon, is worth all the calendars: you physically feel that the season has turned. Tradition links this lunation to fresh starts: it’s a good month to open the project you put off all winter, even by the smallest corner of it.

In the sky, have fun timing the dusk: note the hour of sunset and the moment you make out the first star. In April the gap widens dramatically from one week to the next, and the moon becomes the fixed point in a sky that keeps changing.

And in the garden?

April plants and transplants almost everything, keeping an eye on the last frosts; our April garden calendar gives you the good days, moon and all.

The lunations of April (exact dates)

Calculated from the ephemeris, in London time, and rechecked every night. Each lunation has its own detailed page.

Frequently asked questions

Why is April’s full moon called the Pink Moon?: After moss phlox, a pink flower that carpets the ground among the first of the North American spring. The farmers’ almanacs kept this seasonal marker: the name describes the flowering earth, not the color of the moon.
Why does the moon look enormous when it rises?: It’s the moon illusion: near the horizon, your brain compares the moon to the trees and rooftops, and it seems gigantic. Photograph it, measure it: its apparent diameter is the same as at the zenith. The effect is purely perceptual, and it has fascinated us since antiquity.
When is the full moon in April?: The date moves every year, because the lunar cycle of about 29.5 days doesn’t line up with our months. The exact dates for the current lunation appear at the top of this page; the next-full-moon page keeps the countdown.