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".
Posted by at
Labels: ,

36 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 4, 2009 at 10:13 PM

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. myeApril 5, 2009 at 2:47 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  3. WURYANANOApril 5, 2009 at 4:17 AM

    Nice post, buddy

    Greetings from Surabaya - Indonesia,

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

    ReplyDelete
  4. harri paoApril 5, 2009 at 8:00 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 6, 2009 at 12:44 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  6. EugeneApril 6, 2009 at 1:28 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  7. S-H-YApril 6, 2009 at 3:24 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  8. alibusApril 6, 2009 at 4:30 AM

    Interesting stuff. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  9. sugiyatnoApril 6, 2009 at 4:38 AM

    nice picture... good post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. raphnixApril 6, 2009 at 5:48 AM

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

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  11. SteveApril 6, 2009 at 6:27 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  12. JongApril 6, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    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...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Guide To Life For Women Author - TR HughesApril 6, 2009 at 5:09 PM

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  14. UnknownApril 6, 2009 at 6:47 PM

    Nice bit of trivia!
    @ivan_filios

    ReplyDelete
  15. gazalApril 7, 2009 at 2:18 AM

    wow...this is interesting! :)

    http://healthnbeauty.today.com/

    ReplyDelete
  16. arielkrodotApril 7, 2009 at 9:06 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  17. MCAApril 7, 2009 at 4:33 PM

    Nice blog fren :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. JillApril 8, 2009 at 5:05 AM

    Beautiful photograph of the moon!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bobby AllanApril 8, 2009 at 4:19 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
  20. estherApril 9, 2009 at 3:21 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  21. SelbonApril 10, 2009 at 1:19 AM

    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....

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownApril 10, 2009 at 1:27 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  23. AApril 10, 2009 at 5:08 AM

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

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousApril 10, 2009 at 6:42 AM

    Nice Post! Didn't know that!

    ReplyDelete
  25. mingusApril 10, 2009 at 9:28 AM

    great stuff! i now understand!

    ReplyDelete
  26. UnknownApril 10, 2009 at 10:19 AM

    Very interesting post :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. shykulasaApril 11, 2009 at 3:43 AM

    trivia stuff, i like it :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. kingsgoldApril 12, 2009 at 10:45 PM

    thanks for the information i like your blog

    ReplyDelete
  29. NaokoApril 18, 2009 at 6:43 AM

    Great photo there..

    ReplyDelete
  30. K.M. GeorgeApril 21, 2009 at 7:37 AM

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

    Kate
    Hodge Podge Blog

    ReplyDelete
  31. MattApril 21, 2009 at 7:31 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
  32. AnonymousApril 22, 2009 at 10:58 AM

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  33. macobexApril 22, 2009 at 11:10 PM

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  34. UnknownApril 23, 2009 at 9:10 AM

    Thanks for the info! I always wondered about that!

    ReplyDelete
  35. The Kept WomanMay 4, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    Very interesting! Any idea when the next one is?

    ReplyDelete
  36. Cherry EmerySeptember 16, 2009 at 4:57 AM

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

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

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)