Moon has always been the stars' favorite. They stand by her all night long, twinkling and chatting until

the night fades away. And what does Sun have, in place of stars, and not to mention Moon's shining

planets? Clouds? Birds? Really, Sun has nothing that compares to the deep dress of midnight Moon

wears, sprinkled with glittery stars. Sun only has dirty clouds which pour rains of mourning, always damp

with misty tears. Sun would much rather trade her color-changing cloak of daytime sky; grey and blue,

purple and pink, red and orange. Her tie-dye garments don't dare compare to the gown Moon

possesses. And so Sun is always fiery, fiery with a mighty growing jealousy that makes her as hot as a

pancake right off the griddle, a quesadilla stolen from the fire too soon.

Of course Moon, as innocent as she is, can't see the fire that has all but consumed Sun, and if she could,

she wouldn't realize this fire is fueled by jealousy of her. For you see, Moon isn't really the type for fancy

ball gowns, such as the one she wears, and would much rather wear the loose, casual tie-dye that Sun

showcases upon herself each day. Yes, if only Sun would offer to share her magnificent cloak one mighty

fine day, and Moon would trade to her her dress.

Though with each of them wanting the others garments, Moon too shy to ask for Sun's, and Sun too

prideful to ask for Moon's, Sun's jealousy grew, as large as any great Red Giant, and Moon's sadness

deepened, her longing turning her dress bluer and bluer.

One day when Sun's cloak was really rather grey, and her fire was as hot as ever, she decided that

enough was enough, and that it was high time she got what she deserved. So she planned and schemed

and schemed and planned until finally she had an idea. A brilliant magnificent idea. If she couldn't have

Moon's dress, then why should Moon get to have it? And so, on December 21 she began to creep into

night, shortening it day after day, until March 20th, with the night as short as ever.

March 20th, though, was the day Moon realized what Sun was doing. Her nights had become so short

she barely had time to blanket the world in night before daytime came over the horizon. And so she

began fighting back, creeping into day until it was as short as her nights had once been. She even

managed to find her way into the daytime sky, sharing the cloak with Sun, keeping herself faint so as not

to be noticed.

And so, the fighting continued, on and on for years, until one day when Earth came between Sun and

Moon. Their fighting was forced to cease, and Earth made them promise to share. So one day a year,

Moon passes in front of Sun, sharing in day, and Sun is behind her, cloaked in night.

Though, with the ugly attitude of Sun, their bickering always starts again, and once a year Earth has to

remind them of their promise to share.

This is the story of the Winter Solstice, the Vernal Equinox, Solar Eclipses, Lunar Eclipses, and why you

can sometimes see the Moon during the day.