New Year's Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve.

Ringing in 2010 we will be treated to a blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color. 'Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a 'hunter's moon' or a 'harvest moon'.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:1,3,4)

Ah, yes, what is man that God is mindful of us?

We are created in His image (Genesis 1:26) and He loves us (John 3:16).

As God is mindful of us, let us be mindful of Him in this new year.