Full moon and the names "harvest moon" and "hunter's moon" for the full moons of autumn. The "harvest moon" and "hunter's moon" are traditional terms for the full moons occurring during late summer and in the autumn, in the northern hemisphere usually in September and October respectively. The "harvest moon" is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (22 or 23 September), coming anywhere from two weeks before to two weeks after that date. The "hunter's moon" is the full moon following it. The names are recorded from the early 18th century. The "Oxford English Dictionary" entry for "harvest moon" cites
Autumn harvest festivals, often the most important on their calendars. Still extant echoes of these celebrations are found in the autumn Thanksgiving holiday of the United States and Canada, and the Jewish Sukkot holiday with its roots as a full-moon harvest festival of "tabernacles" (living in outdoor huts around the time of harvest). There are also the many North American Indian festivals tied to harvest of ripe foods gathered in the wild, the Chinese Mid-Autumn or Moon festival, and many others. The predominant mood of these autumnal celebrations is a gladness for the fruits of the earth mixed with a certain