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Article: Myths, months, and the moon:.(The Home Forum)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- September 17, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Sharon J. Huntington
ED: ALL 09/17/2002 -- For as long as people have been looking at the sky, they have been admiring and wondering at the moon. What is it? Why does it appear at different times each night? Why does it change shape?
Early peoples told stories to explain these changes. The Mayans of Central America had a legend that the moon is an old man lying sideways in the sky. As he turns to face Earth, more of his big belly becomes visible each night until it is full and round. Then a jaguar jumps into the sky and begins taking bites of his belly each night until he disappears for three nights to eat and regain strength.
An old ...