Pink moon rises tonight: Will the moon be pink? How does it determine the date of Easter?

You’ve probably heard of a blue moon. But a pink moon? That’s likely a new one.

The full moon of April, called the “pink moon” will rise about 7 p.m. CT Friday night and set around 5:40 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the full pink moon takes its name not from its color but from the appearance of “moss pink” or wild ground phlox, one of the earliest flowers of spring. Other names for the moon include Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and the Fish Moon.

Lunar names trace their roots back to Native Americans, who traditionally gave distinctive names to each recurring full moon.

This year’s full moon is also connected to the date of Easter. Tonight’s moon is known as the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon that determines the date of Easter.

How the date of Easter is determined

Easter, the Christian holiday which marks Christ’s resurrection, always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This year, Easter falls on April 21, which is relatively late in the year.

According to scriptures, Jesus’ death followed the Jewish Passover, which is celebrated on a full moon in Spring. The early church used this date to determine Easter, celebrating it on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the vernal or spring equinox.

In an effort to standardize this date – the timing of the equinox can vary between March 19, 20 or 21– the early church set March 21 as its standard day for the equinox. This means Easter each year falls on the Sunday after the first full moon following March 21, a moon known as the “Paschal Full Moon.”

In 2019, a full moon and the Spring Equinox fell on the same day – March 20. However, due to the March 21 change, Easter 2019 was pushed back into April. It will follow the full moon in April, which will occur April 19, falling on Good Friday.