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April 2026 Full Pink Moon: Paschal Moon Meaning, Folklore & Best Viewing Tips

full pink moon, the april full moon, the old farmer's almanac
Image Credit:
Colleen Quinnell/The Old Farmer's Almanac
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Step outside on Wednesday, April 1, to witness April’s Full Pink Moon; we promise, this is no April Fools’ joke! This Paschal Moon marks the first Full Moon of spring and is used to determine the date of Easter. Discover the story behind the “Pink Moon” and what makes this lunar event unique.

When to See the Full Moon in April 2026

Full Moon (Pink Moon): Occurs on April 1, 2026, at 10:12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). ​April 1 also happens to be one of the most fun holidays, April Fools’ Day!

For the best view of this stunning spring Moon, head to an open area and watch as it rises above the horizon. At this moment, it will appear larger than usual due to the Moon illusion and take on a beautiful golden hue! [Find local moonrise and moonset times here.]

Full Pink Moon over mountains.

The Paschal Moon

Did you know that the Full Moon sets the date for Easter? April’s Full Moon has religious significance as well. In Christianity, it’s known as the Lenten Moon if it’s the last Full Moon of winter (before the spring equinox) or the Paschal Full Moon if it’s the first ecclesiastical Full Moon of spring (after the equinox).

This year, April’s ecclesiastical Full Moon occurs after the ecclesiastical spring equinox (always set on March 21, whereas the astronomical spring equinox is on March 20, 2026), making it the Paschal Moon. As the first Full Moon of the season, it will determine the date of Easter this year. [Read more about how Easter’s date is determined.]

Why Is It Called the Pink Moon?

The Old Farmer’s Almanac draws its Full Moon names from various sources, including Native American, Colonial American, and European traditions. Traditionally, these names refer not just to the Full Moon but to the entire lunar month in which it occurs.

While the name “Pink Moon” might suggest a rosy-colored Moon, the reality is a bit less magical. The name comes from the early spring bloom of a wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata, commonly known as creeping phlox or moss phlox. This flower, often called “moss pink,” was in full bloom around April’s Full Moon.

Thanks to this seasonal connection, the April Full Moon became known as the Pink Moon!

Pink moss phlox flowers.
Pink moss phlox, or “moss pink,” lends its nickname to the April Moon.

Alternative April Moon Names

April’s Full Moon names reflect the vibrant signs of spring!

  • The Breaking Ice Moon (Algonquin) and Moon When the Streams Are Again Navigable (Dakota) refer to the melting ice and consequent increased mobility in early spring.
  • The Budding Moon of Plants and Shrubs (Tlingit) and Moon of the Red Grass Appearing (Oglala) highlight the plant growth about to take off.
  • Other names focus on the return of certain animals, like the Moon When the Ducks Come Back (Lakota), Moon When the Geese Lay Eggs (Dakota), and Frog Moon (Cree).
  • The Sucker Moon (Anishinaabe) marks the time to harvest sucker fish, which return to streams or shallow lakes to spawn. Legend says this is when the fish come back from the spirit world to purify the waters and the creatures within them. This name can also apply to the February Moon, honoring the sucker fish’s sacrifice to help the Anishinaabe survive the winter.

→ See all 12 months of Full Moon names and meanings.

Moon Phases for April 2026

Image of the four April 2026 Moon phases.

All dates and times are Eastern Time. See our Moon Phase Calendar to customize times and dates to your location.

April Moon Phase Dates and Times

Full Moon: April 1, 2026, 10:12 P.M. ET

Last Quarter: April 10, 12:52 A.M. ET

New Moon: April 17, 7:52 A.M. ET

First Quarter: April 23, 10:32 P.M. ET

→ When is the next Full Moon? See our Full Moon calendar.

April Moon Facts and Folklore

A Full Moon in April brings frost. If the Full Moon rises pale, expect rain.

  • On April 20, 1972, the lunar module of Apollo XVI landed on the Moon with astronauts John Young and Charles Duke aboard. Thomas Mattingly remained in orbit around the Moon aboard the command module.
  • The next day, April 21, 1972, Young and Duke became the first to drive an electric car on the Moon’s surface. It’s still up there, along with some tools and film they accidentally left behind.
  • Folklore suggests that the period from the Full Moon to the Last Quarter Moon is the best time for activities like killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below-ground crops. Read more about Gardening by the Moon.

Full Pink Moon Video

Each month, we will explain the traditional names of the Full Moon along with some interesting and insightful Moon facts. Click below to watch the video.

April Best Days 2026

Below are the Best Days for various activities, based on the Moon’s sign and phase in April.

For Planting:

  • Aboveground crops: 22, 23
  • Belowground crops: 3–5

For Setting Eggs:

  • 1, 2, 10, 28, 29

For Fishing:

  • 1, 17–30

→ See Best Days for more activities.

We hope you enjoyed learning about the Full Pink Moon and its fascinating history and folklore! Feel free to share your thoughts or any Moon-inspired stories in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you and keep the conversation going. Enjoy the wonders of the Moon! 

Full Moon Names

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>April Renea</span> Mon, 04/27/2015 - 19:09
The moon was blood red where I'm located!!! It was beautiful!!!
<span>Cpd</span> Sun, 04/05/2015 - 19:09
The moon looked orange and very eerie over the ocean in saco but it was beautiful!
<span>Lita Villa-Coult</span> Sat, 04/04/2015 - 12:49
Thank You for always offering excellent Moon Information! I would love to see more about "Old Stories" and Folklore! I too was raised with a Respect for the Moon and that our Universe is FULL of still yet Unknown, yet sometimes predictable Phenomena! ~PET~ TC
<span>Potsonna2</span> Tue, 03/31/2015 - 14:01
Interesting! Happy Easter to everyone!
<span>Rebecca Creason</span> Sat, 04/19/2014 - 10:06
LOL I have heard it all now....
<span>James Skyler</span> Mon, 04/14/2014 - 23:35
Will we see other day/year of pink moon beside tonight. Is that once a lifetime chance? Will be there more pink moon in near future? Please help, if you know answer and a website confirms it.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/06/2015 - 10:38

"Pink Moon" is a name for the full Moon around the time of April, when the moss pink, or wild ground phlox, is in blossom. The name was used by the Algonquin tribe, as well as by colonial Americans. So every year, a traditional name for the full Moon in April is the Full Pink Moon. It has other names, such as Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Wildcat Moon, Deep Water Moon, Boiling Down of Sap Moon, and several more. If you'd like to explore Moon names further, you might check out online sources or books that cover Native American/First Nations timekeeping systems, as well as Moon folklore.

 <span>Pinkmoonpoet</span> Mon, 04/14/2014 - 17:11
A pink moon. It was a forbidden love from long ago. Still whispering softly after years and years. It won't stop until it winds around again, dangerously entangling two lives separate. Her heart skips a beat, hasn't done this since years long gone past. What is this!?! She suddenly can't stop the fluttering, she smiles, remembering innocent tender embraces. His plump rosy childish lips. Hers. So similar they were bound by the laws of the universe to meet again, no amount of time or distance could keep them apart. Secret lovers, unbearably passionate that no one but they alone will ever understand. And she waits. Because she knows the power of this and the inevitable. She waits with a hidden smile of joy in her heart. Waiting for his words that will cover her body. They only need a quick glance, to know that yes! This does exist! A forbidden love that can only be allowed to entwine once in a pink full moon. To spare the heartbreak it would cost to others, and knowing that only this way would it ever feel like this any way, to meet more than once in a pink moon would destroy the pureness of this, thing. To remain hidden, known only to the two of them. But this passion makes them to better love the one who awaits at home. The rock at home that each needs to hang on to because to let their wild hearts go recklessly would break them forever. Break the rocks and these star-crossed lovers. Only once when a pink moon comes about, and the universe is forced to unite two hearts again in their strange entangled lives.
<span>Jenny Abbott</span> Fri, 04/03/2015 - 15:32
Thanks for your poem, it was beautiful. I've been there and got my heart broken. But I'm still glad I've been there!
<span>Sharon Brown</span> Tue, 04/23/2024 - 16:30
Alfred Tennyson wrote the line, “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Without love, life would have no meaning and we would not appreciate things like full moons!