The year in the Natchez Calendar began around the early spring according to Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz and other among his French contemporaries. A grandiose celebration called Deer Feast that opened the year took days to complete, a magnificent festival of traditional food, games and recreational reenactments of the past history key events.

Beginning of each new month was also marked with smaller scale festivals, usually made from the principle fruit of the earth peculiar to the season, while the name of each month derived from the same source.

The first month on the Natchez calendar was called Deer Moon and it was roughly equivalent to the month of  March. It was said to signify the renewal of the year which was said to “spread universal joy.” Celebrated with the famous Feast of the Deer, the beginning of new span of seasons did not leave people indifferent or disappointed.

On the second month – Strawberry Moon (roughly equivalent to April) – women and children went out to collect early strawberry, with the lovely celebration full of delicatessen made of the juicy forest fruit keeping entire villages in most jovial of moods. As tradition dictated warriors would go out to, to hunt wood ducks and present those as gifts to each other and their womenfolk.

The third month of the Natchez calendar was called Little Corn Moon (roughly equivalent to May). This one was awaited with impatience, especially the early first harvest it brought, the gift of the “little corn” crucial if the main harvest of the previous autumn was not sufficient to last the community through the entire winter.

The fourth month, called Watermelons Moon (roughly equivalent to June), saw men going out with massive nets, set on catching the fish that was running up against the current of the rivers at this time of the year. As watermelon seemed to be a non-indigenous fruit to the American continent, the name of this month as recorded by the 18^th century French might have been called differently in more in more indigenous times.

The fifth month was called Peaches Moon (roughly equivalent to July) and saw plenty of forest fruit collected and brought back to villages not only as means of food or sweeteners but also as offerings to the Great Spirits, and even the ruler himself, the Great Sun.

A month later, on the sixth moon called Mulberries Moon (roughly equivalent to August), those were certain birds that were offered to the Great Spirits and sent to please the Great Sun.

The seventh month, called Maize or Great Corn Moon (roughly equivalent to September), threw all villages and towns into as grandiose and important celebration as the one that began the new year – the Harvest Feast. This was the time of the harvest, the season that told people with certainty if they were expected to have a good comfortable winter or a lean one.

Through the eight month of the Natchez calendar that was called Turkey Moon (roughly equivalent to October) wild turkeys were migrating  from the thick of the woods to enter the more open ground in search of nettle seeds, presenting opportunities. Some of those fowls were hunted in order to store their meet in a dried or salted manner for the winter; others were merely captured, to be kept in the vicinity of the villages and serve as future food guarantee.

The ninth month, called Bison Moon (roughly equivalent to November), would sweep by busily, with massive hunting operations of well coordinated groups of hunters, with even women coming to help around the hunting camps, skinning the game and preparing its meat for the winter. In some villages only too young and too old along with mothers of little children would stay in at home.

The tenth month was called Bear Moon (roughly equivalent to December), and it went by in a slower pace, with the men sill spending their time in hunting concentrated activities but on a smaller scale. No notable feasts were held through this time of the year.

The eleventh month, called Cold Meal (roughly equivalent to January) was dedicated to hunt of geese, ducks and other water fowl.

The twelve month was called Chestnut Moon (roughly equivalent to February). Not much had been done in the way of ensuring community’s wellbeing through this coldest time of the year, with chestnuts and other edible seed collected and stored quite a few moons before.

The last thirteenth moon was called Nut Moon (to round the Moon Calendar’s year up). At this time of the year indeed nuts were broken to make breads mixed with corn meal.

And then, it was back to the beginning of spring and the happy celebration of the awakening season and the new round of the calendar yearly activities.