Thursday, April 2, 2009

Where did "once in a blue moon" phrase originate?



The phrase once in a blue moon pertains to an event that may happen very rarely or seldom or may not happen at all..After all when was the last time you saw the moon turned blue? The "blue moon" expression is old and dates back to medieval England. According to modern folklore, a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. Usually, months have only one full moon, but occasionally, a second one sneaks in. Full moons are separated by 29 days, while most months are 30 or 31 days long; so it is possible to fit two full moons in a singe month. This happens every two and a half years, on average.

For example, in 2004, the month of July had two ful moons. The first happened in July 2, while the other one happened in Juy 31, which by definition is a "blue moon".

36 comments:

  1. Interesting, I had always thought the blue moon was the nights when the moon is not actually visible given that at least once a month the moon does not reflect any of the sun's rays and is therefore invisible, even at night. Guess I was wrong, will be coming back for other trivia.

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  2. very informative. i know the meaning but i didn't realize about this as a phenomena

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  3. Nice post, buddy

    Greetings from Surabaya - Indonesia,

    Wuryanano
    Motivational Blog - Support Your Success
    Entrepreneur Campus - Support Your Future

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  4. Cool, blog...you show nature phenomena. have nice blogging.

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  5. wooow, used that term many times but learnt the exact meaning of it here.Thks pal!

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  6. Thanks for this ^^ I really thought that it was about the color of the moon..

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  7. wow this is really nice scene.anyway I visited you and leave a comment and thanks for visiting my blog, have a nice day.

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  8. Interesting stuff. Good luck!

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  9. Hi there. It's me raphnix. I think you posted a message in my blogcatalog profile.

    Thanks

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  10. so i have to ask the question...is this second moon of the month blue? or bluish?? http://theroarkreport.blogspot.com/

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  11. hi there Steve..according to research, the moon is not blue or bluish..the date of a full moon, all by itself does not affect its color..The moon in July 31 is pearly gray as usual...

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  12. Good to know. My head is full of interesting tidbits and it makes for great small talk. Yet, aren't we all seeking for knowledge, no matter how large or small? I am, always. Learning is living. Cool site.

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  13. Nice bit of trivia!
    @ivan_filios

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  14. wow...this is interesting! :)

    http://healthnbeauty.today.com/

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  15. I am happy to know about "blue moon", though I have never seen before

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  16. Beautiful photograph of the moon!

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  17. Fun! I say this all the time but I never knew the trivia behind it.

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  18. I've heard about this. It depends on where the movement is seen from. Moslem calendar month is 29days.

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  19. So instead of saying "once in two years and a half" it is better to say "once in a blue moon"
    Nice post..
    Or it is better to say "see you in a blue moon"
    than " see you in two years and a half"

    Hi, Just makin you laugh......Peace....

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  20. hi, there. Just wanna say "Hi" to you. :)

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  21. Wow! I didn't know anybody else knew this trivia! :-D Very interesting blog you have here! :-D

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  22. Nice Post! Didn't know that!

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  23. great stuff! i now understand!

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  24. thanks for the information i like your blog

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  25. Awesome! I never knew this! I will definitely be back, for more trivia...

    Kate
    Hodge Podge Blog

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  26. Thanks for the information. I always like knowing the origins of sayings.

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  27. I knew of the phrase but didn't know the why - that's pretty cool.

    I really like your site by the way, nice simple layout and interesting, it's a winner!

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  28. very interesting pal. So the moon is not really turning blue? ehe..

    Anyway, I suggest you to proof read your post pal. There are many typos. Just a tip pal. Thanks!

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  29. Thanks for the info! I always wondered about that!

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  30. Very interesting! Any idea when the next one is?

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  31. This really a nice posting . I appreciate it .Thanks a lot for description about "blue moon".

    http://healthnbeauty.livejournal.com/1085.html

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