Lunar gift: Full ‘cold’ moon for Christmas, next one a decade away

Known as the Cold Moon and the Long Night Moon, a lunar rarity will appear near sunset on Dec. 25, 26 and 27, with peak illumination occurring on Boxing Day.

Most of British Columbia will experience a green holiday season this year — a rare occurrence for many Interior communities.

Also rare this year: a full moon during Christmas.

Known as the Cold Moon and the Long Night Moon, December’s lunar rarity will rise near sunset on Dec. 25, 26 and 27, with peak illumination occurring on Boxing Day.

“To our eyes, the moon’s disk will appear fully illuminated a couple of days before a full moon,” says the Farmer’s Almanac, “so start looking on December 24 and 25 towards the east after sunset as it peaks over the horizon.”

A handy moonrise and moonset calculator is available online.

According to NASA, the phenomenon is called the Cold Moon or Full Cold Moon “because December is the month when it really starts to get cold, although our coldest average temperatures are in January.”

It’s also known as the Long Night Moon because it can occur near the solstice — the longest night of the year.

“The full moon takes a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite to the low sun,” said NASA, “so the moon will be above the horizon longer than at other times of the year.”