The Full Moon at Summer Solstice

When my Daddy pointed to summer's full moon he said, "See the bunny?"

I squeezed my eyes to find it. 

"Imagine a clock. Look at the 1 and 2 for ears.  Find the tail about 7 o'clock," he said.

The moon rabbit appears in fables, folklore, and poetry around the world. Sansanka, the moon in Sanskrit translates, "having the marks of a hare."

In a Buddhist fable, a monkey, jackal and rabbit happened upon a beggar who needed food. While the monkey gathered fruit from the trees, the jackal caught a lizard and stole a pot of milk-curd. 

The rabbit only ate grass and had nothing to offer the beggar. She flung herself into the fire the man had built. Suddenly, the man revealed himself as the god, Sakra. Touched by the rabbit's sacrifice, he designed her likeness on the moon for everyone to see.

The Han Dynasty poets referred to the "Jade Rabbit" or the "Gold Rabbit." These Chinese characters represented a word for the moon: 玉兔  金兔 

A Taoist fable revealed a hare, the gemmeous, who served the genii. The creature ground an elixir of immortality on the moon. Imperial Chinese robes of the 18th-century revealed the white hare making the elixir in embroidery.

Told in a Native American Cree legend, a rabbit wished to ride the moon. The crane agreed to fly him there. As the rabbit's weight pulled during the trip, it stretched the bird's legs. They remained elongated from then on. When they reached the moon, the rabbit touched the crane's head leaving a red mark. The rabbit still rides the moon.

by Cyra R. Cancel

The Tezcucans of Mexico said the sun and moon started out equal in brightness until a god took a rabbit by its heels and flung it into the moon's face to dim its light.

Enjoy a writing festival today in celebration of Summer Solstice. Imagine yourself reveling at Stonehenge near the fire wondering about the rabbit in the moon. Think about Shakespeare and enjoy a midsummer night's dream. 

Look for the bunny tonight.