Badr Al-Ghazal

Last Wednesday evening, the “Deer” full moon rose over the Kuwaiti sky, adding a touch of splendor to the horizon of the Salmiya district. This name traces its origins to the ancient farmers’ calendar, which assigned each monthly full moon a name linked to a natural phenomenon or a specific season.

The practice of naming full moons by month is an ancient tradition used by agricultural communities and Indigenous peoples in North America to track the changing seasons and connect lunar movements with natural signs. For instance, the January full moon is commonly known as the Wolf Moon, the February full moon as the Snow Moon, and the June full moon as the Strawberry Moon, due to its association with the strawberry harvest season. The July full moon, known as the Deer Moon, corresponds to the period when male deer begin to grow and complete their antlers. Although these names vary across cultures, they reveal an ancient connection between humans, the sky, and the seasons.