When asked of the elders this question what was the tradition of the Cherokee,
and the 13th or Blue Moon, the following is the answer that was presented to me.

Osiyo Cousin,
Unless one the Grandmothers has more, it marks the end of a cycle
and on the 1st day of the new month/year, it is a time of letting go of
any thing we might have against someone. That means we check ourselves.
You might say the 13th month would be a time when we harvest our
experiences and see what we need to let go of. It is a Probably the most
important holiday in our year. It is a day of Propitiation. Return to
harmony. I'm sure Grandmother Lucy would have more on this.

The following is what Grandmother Lucy had to say about the
Cherokee and the 13th Moon.

Our moon cycle for each year was about 28 days long
and there were 13 each cycle. The blue moon is one
that doesn't come every year and not always at the
same time of year. It's when Brother Moon appears blue
to those of us on Earth and happens very seldom. The
13th moon, the end of our annual cycle is the Harvest
Moon when we gather the last of the crops and prepare
for winter. That's also the time we atone for any
mistakes and hard feeling the prior cycle, make things
right, start Big Trade Moon with a clean slate. As
I've said before, that's where Thanksgiving first came
from. We natives were willing to share our food with
the pilgrims and forgive them the mistakes they made
the prior year. If we hadn't, they would have all
starved. My northwest Indian friends say that if the
pilgrims had landed on the northwest coast, we'd have
salmon for Thanksgiving instead of turkey.

Some of you have asked why I wrote Soul Food using 13
moons instead of the calendar we use these days for
work, school, etc. It's because I didn't want to use
the calendar we're forced to use; it makes no sense.
Whoever heard of one moon with 28 days, a bunch with
30 and more with 31? And whose bright idea was it to
have the 28 day moon get an extra day every 4 years?
Not us.

For meditation purposes, it matters little what the
calendar says. What's important is the season of the
year. Look around you. What do you see outside? Are
the trees budding and new baby birds being born? If
so, it's spring. Right now most of the country is
getting colder weather. The crops are in, the
cupboards are full, we're ready for winter tale time.
But first, we should have done our atonement about two
weeks ago. Brother Moon, when he's full, is at the
halfway mark of the cycle. Look out tonight and see
what "time" it is. Then you'll know where you are in
this cycle.

Our moon cycle for each year was about 28 days long
and there were 13 each cycle. The blue moon is one
that doesn't come every year and not always at the
same time of year. It's when Brother Moon appears
blue
to those of us on Earth and happens very seldom. The
13th moon, the end of our annual cycle is the
Harvest
Moon when we gather the last of the crops and
prepare
for winter. That's also the time we atone for any
mistakes and hard feeling the prior cycle, make
things
right, start Big Trade Moon with a clean slate. As
I've said before, that's where Thanksgiving first
came
from. We natives were willing to share our food with
the pilgrims and forgive them the mistakes they made
the prior year. If we hadn't, they would have all
starved. My northwest Indian friends say that if the
pilgrims had landed on the northwest coast, we'd
have
salmon for Thanksgiving instead of turkey.

Some of you have asked why I wrote Soul Food using
13
moons instead of the calendar we use these days for
work, school, etc. It's because I didn't want to use
the calendar we're forced to use; it makes no sense.
Whoever heard of one moon with 28 days, a bunch with
30 and more with 31? And whose bright idea was it to
have the 28 day moon get an extra day every 4 years?
Not us.

For meditation purposes, it matters little what the
calendar says. What's important is the season of the
year. Look around you. What do you see outside? Are
the trees budding and new baby birds being born? If
so, it's spring. Right now most of the country is
getting colder weather. The crops are in, the
cupboards are full, we're ready for winter tale
time.
But first, we should have done our atonement about
two
weeks ago. Brother Moon, when he's full, is at the
halfway mark of the cycle. Look out tonight and see
what "time" it is. Then you'll know where you are in
this cycle.

Love, Grandmother Lucy