The word “moon” has been around as long as the English language， which is not surprising because the moon was critically important to early civilizations. It comes from the Old English “mona” and shares a root with the word “month”—because the moon revolves around the Earth once a month. While the sun stays the same day after day， the moon changes every night， allowing ancient people to identify the days and months and seasons.

月亮一詞的出現(xiàn)時間與英語一樣長，這并不奇怪，因為月亮對早期文明至關(guān)重要。它來源于古英語mona，和單詞month有同一個詞根——因為月亮每月繞地球旋轉(zhuǎn)一次。當太陽日復(fù)一日地停留在同一個地方時，月亮每晚都在變化，這使得古人能夠識別出白天、月份和季節(jié)。

Today， we have calendars and clocks to help us keep track of time. But some of the old names for the moon （especially a full moon） have stuck. Many， though not all， of these names for moons are linked to traditions related to ecology and ways of life. While you might have heard of some of the names were referring to， we bet there are lots that will surprise you.

今天，我們有日歷和時鐘來幫助我們跟蹤時間。但是一些古老的月球名稱（特別是滿月）一直沿用下來。有許多月亮的名字是與生態(tài)和生活方式有關(guān)的傳統(tǒng)聯(lián)系在一起的。雖然你可能聽說過我們提到的一些名稱，但我們敢打賭，有很多名稱會讓你大吃一驚。

Strawberry Moon

草莓月

Throughout history， the arrival of certain plants， animals， or weather patterns have been used for the naming of moons. For example， the strawberry moon—you guessed it—coincides with the arrival of strawberries.

縱觀歷史，某些植物、動物或天氣模式被用來命名月亮。例如，草莓月——你猜到了——恰逢草莓上市。

Many Native nations throughout the United States link a particular moon to these （wild） strawberries. Which moon that was depended on where those tribes lived. In the warm southern United States， the Natchez people called the April full moon the strawberry moon. For the Cherokee people， March is known as the strawberry moon， or anvhyi in Cherokee. For the Anishnaabe， June is known as odeimini-giizis or strawberry moon. And there are half a dozen other variations.

美國各地的許多土著居民都把特定的月亮與這些（野生）草莓聯(lián)系在一起。月亮的類別取決于那些部落住在哪里。在溫暖的美國南部，納齊茲人把4月的滿月叫作草莓月。對于切羅基人來說，3月被稱為草莓月，也就是徹羅基語中的anvhyi。對于Anishnaabe來說，6月被稱為odeimini-giizis或草莓月，并且還有六種其他的變體。

Blue Moon

藍月亮

Today， the blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. Its awfully rare for a blue moon to come around—it only occurs once every 2.7 years.

如今，藍月亮是指日歷月中的第二個滿月。藍月亮的來臨非常罕見——每2.7年才可能出現(xiàn)一次。

The blue in the blue moon is thought to come from the Old English word be-l?wa， meaning “betrayer”—possibly because it was out of sync with the usual moon cycle.

藍月亮中的blue被認為源于古英語單詞be-l?wa，意思是“背叛者”——可能是因為它與通常的月球周期不同步。

Harvest Moon

豐收月

Before it was a 1992 album by the Canadian artist Neil Young， the harvest moon referred to the full moon closest to autumnal equinox， typically in September or October.

在1992年加拿大藝術(shù)家尼爾·楊的專輯出版之前，豐收月指的是最接近秋分的滿月，通常在9月或10月。

The word “harvest” comes from the Old English word h?rfest which referred to the autumn season. In the mid-1200s， “harvest” became more closely associated with the sense we know it today—the gathering of crops. The expression “harvest moon” is attested to by 1704.

harvest這個詞來自古英語單詞h?rfest，它指的是秋季。在13世紀中期，harvest變得與我們今天所知道的意義更加緊密地聯(lián)系在一起——農(nóng)作物的收集。豐收月這個表達是在1704年被證實的。

Many cultures have harvest moons， including a number of Native American languages. In China， the Moon Festival （Zhongqiu Jie）， also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival， is celebrated during the harvest moon. As part of the celebration， families traditionally share mooncakes， a kind of sweet pastry.

許多文化中都有豐收月，包括許多美洲方言。在中國，月亮節(jié)（中秋節(jié)）也被稱為中秋節(jié)，是在豐收月慶祝的。作為慶?；顒拥囊徊糠郑胰藗儠詡鹘y(tǒng)的方式分享一種甜點——月餅。

Cold Moon

冷月

In most parts of the United States， January is cold—bitter cold. So it makes sense that for many Native American tribes， the name for the January or other winter full moons translates to some variation of cold moon.

在美國的大部分地區(qū)，1月是冷冰冰的。因此，對于許多美洲土著部落來說1月或其他冬季滿月的名稱被譯成了冷月的一些變體，這個名稱是可以理解的。

In Cherokee and Mohawk， the cold moon takes place in January. In Eastern Comanche， its December. For the Central Shoshoni people， the cold moon takes place in November.

在切羅基和莫霍克，冷月出現(xiàn)在1月。在東科曼奇，是12月。對于肖肖尼人來說，冷月出現(xiàn)在11月。

While the expression “cold moon” appears in many literary texts in English—even in Shakespeare—it isnt until the early 1800s that English-language texts note the Native American expression cold moon in relation to the January full moon. In the English tradition， the January full moon would have been known as the moon after Yule—Yule being the name for the winter solstice.

雖然冷月這種表達出現(xiàn)在英語的許多文學(xué)文本中——甚至在莎士比亞的作品中也有出現(xiàn)——但直到19世紀初，英語文本才注意到美洲土著居民的冷月這種表達與1月的滿月有關(guān)系。在英國的傳統(tǒng)中，1月的滿月將被稱為圣誕節(jié)之后的月亮——圣誕節(jié)是冬至的名字。

Milk Moon

牛奶月

It is said that， the name “milk moon” is a colonial English expression for the full moon in April. As the theory goes， grass is particularly abundant in April， allowing the farm animals to make a lot of milk.

據(jù)說，牛奶月是殖民地國家對4月滿月的一種表達。傳聞，4月特別豐富的草可以讓許多農(nóng)場動物大量產(chǎn)奶。

The earliest written uses of the expression “milk moon” in evidence come from late 19th and early 20th century studies of tribes in Mongolia and their names for different months. One of these， when translated， was known as the milk moon. However， at least by the early 20th century， the April full moon was termed the milk moon in English-language almanacs.

“牛奶月”這個詞最早的書面用法來自19世紀末和20世紀初對蒙古部落和他們?yōu)椴煌路葸M行命名的研究。其中一個在翻譯時被譯為牛奶月。然而，至少到20世紀初，4月滿月才在英語年鑒中被稱為牛奶月。

Word Study

track /tr?k/ n. （人、動物或車輛留下的）足跡，蹤跡;車轍

keep track of? 了解……的動態(tài);與……保持聯(lián)系

Bank statements help you keep track of where your money is going.

coincide /'k???n'sa?d/ v. （兩件或更多的事情）同時發(fā)生

The strike was timed to coincide with the party conference.

term /t??m/ v. 把……稱為;把……叫作

At his age， he can hardly be termed a young man.