I am not knowledgeable or even very intrigued by my family history. Acting as my Uncle’s personal representative I found documents that my Great Grandfather had legally changed his name in the late 1910’s from Mumme to Mooney. I was told he tired of being called “Mummy” instead of the correct pronunciation so he and rest of the family are now Mooney. It was positive that he was running from an enunciation issue and not the law. That is a long way of telling you that today is the Winter Solstice and it coincides with a full Moon and the Ursid meteor shower. Technically the full moon occurs on the 22nd but I have it on good authority that the solstice moon will look full. This moon is called the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon as named by Native Americans. If it is clear you can also see Mercury and Jupiter in the long night sky. The next time the winter solstice and full moon will coincide is 2094. I will hope the grandchildren will be watching the next event and looking up for the Mooney clan who went before.
I began thinking of all the ways our moon has influenced us over the centuries. The moon wields her force as a luminary without producing any light of her own. The moon is a symbol of subtlety and guidance. Confucius said “Ignorance is the night of the mind. It is a night without a Moon by which to clearly see.” Tolkien felt “the moon drowns out all but the brightest stars.” And Carl Sandburg reminded us “the moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to.” Poets and authors love the moon. We should not forget song writers, John Fogerty saw a “Bad Moon Rising”. Van Morrison thought it was a marvelous night for “moon dance”, Cat Stevens was being followed by a “moon shadow” and Frank Sinatra crooned “Fly me to the Moon.” Even though there is a dark side to the moon, humans revere the idea of this dependable but ever changing form in the sky. John Lennon sang in Instant Karma “we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun”. The idea was we need to recognize your brothers and everyone you meet. Very idealistic, but Karma is the law of cause and effect, we should recall “what goes around comes around.” We united as a country to land on the moon and took pride in the accomplishment. I hope our Xmas gift is enlightened leadership on the many issues that divide us and those that shape the future of our planet.
Merry Xmas. Mike