A full day of beautiful skies allowed for wonderful moon views of the setting and rising full December Wolf Moon. Also called the Long Night Moon, Ice Moon, Cold Moon, and the Moon After Yule, December’s full moon marks the 13th full moon of 2020.
Several of the photos are from the night before and several from this morning. The two Eastern Point Lighthouse photos are double exposures. All were taken around our East Gloucester neighborhood, from Good Harbor Beach to the EPLighthouse.
The double crosses of the bell tower holding the Moon
December’s Full Snow Moon, also named the Cold Moon
* * *
About the architecture of Our Lady of Good Voyage from the National Park Service –
A fire destroyed the original church in 1914. Prominent architect Halfdan M. Hanson designed and immediately began building the existing, unique Mission style church, which replaced the earlier church. It is the only Mission style church in Gloucester. Modeled after a church in the Azores, Our Lady of Good Voyage consists of two distinct sections: the two-story main worship space that is of a cruciform plan and an L-shaped rectory that extends from the northwest corner of the main worship space. The rectory, which was built between 1872 and 1884 as a separate building, was incorporated into the new church. Resting on a granite foundation, the building is covered in a buff-colored stucco. Flanked by two identical bell towers, the central bay of the façade is pierced by the main entrance at the first level. A rose window adorns the second level, above which rises an ogee pediment supporting a pedestal and a statue of Our Lady of Good Voyage, who holds a boat in her left hand as a symbol of a safe voyage. In 1922, bells were installed in the towers. These bells, still in place today, were cast by John Taylor & Company of England-the same foundry that cast Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.
Waxing Cold Moon of December
Friday at day’s end Charlotte and I were walking along our favorite route when she pointed to the sky and said Moon, Moon. I wasn’t thinking to look for the Moon, but there it was, peaking through the clouds. This photo is for her 🙂
One more photo from December’s Frost Moon at dawn. The moon was rapidly loosing color in the sun’s first light, but still beautiful I think.
The only super moon of 2017, December’s full moon was fittingly named by Native American tribes the “Long Night’s Moon,” the “Frost Moon,” and the “Cold Moon.” In Europe, December’s full moon is called the “Yule Moon.”
December’s full moon kicks off a trilogy of super moons. The next super moon is January 1st, 2018 and the following super moon is January 31st, 2018 which also makes it a “Blue Moon,” (the second of two full moons in a month is called a Blue Moon).
First in the Super Moon Trilogy