Christmas will be extra bright this year. What to know about the ‘Cold Moon’

It won’t just be the holiday lights and decorations making Christmas brighter this year.

Sharing the week with the winter solstice, December’s full moon will add some extra glow to the holiday season as it takes to the night sky toward the end of the month.

Appropriately called the Cold Moon, here’s everything you need to know about when and how best to see it in Florida.

When is the December full moon?

The next full moon will fall the day after Christmas on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.

What is the December full moon called?

The last full moon of the year, also known as a cold moon, is seen over the sky of Caracas, on Dec. 7, 2022.

The December full moon is called the Cold Moon due to cold weather officially moving in this time of year. It has also been called the Long Night Moon to acknowledge the longer nights that occur as winter progresses.

According to The Old Farmers Almanac, moon names have Native American origins, as they would use monthly moons to track the seasons.

Other names that allude to the cold and snow include Drift Clearing Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Trees Moon (Cree), Moon of the Popping Trees (Oglala), Hoar Frost Moon (Cree), Snow Moon (Haida, Cherokee), and Winter Maker Moon (Western Abenaki).

What is the significance of the Cold Moon in December?

Intertwined with the chilly winter season, the Cold Moon is said to be associated with “introspection, reflection and preparation” for the challenges of a lengthy period of cold. The Cold Moon also occurs near the solstice on Thursday, Dec. 21, which is the longest night of the year.

For the astrology experts, the Cold Moon is a full moon in Cancer.

Does the Cold Moon actually mean a cold night?

It might depending on the region you live in but regardless, the air’s temperature is not affected by moon phase.

“It is affected by the season and whether there is a cloud cover, among other things. On a clear night, heat rises from Earth if there is no cloud cover holding it in,” Farmer’s Almanac writes.

Has there ever been a full moon on Christmas?

Yes, but this lunar gift doesn’t come every year. Or decade for that matter.

The previous full moon on Christmas Day was in 2015. Prior to that the last full moon on Christmas Day was in 1977.

This phenomenon is relatively rare because the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days, and Christmas falls on the same date every year. The next full moon on Christmas Day will come in 2034, according to Space.com.

When is the best time to see the full Cold Moon in Florida 2023?

December’s Cold Moon reaches peak illumination on Tuesday, Dec. 26, at 7:33 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. It will be the first full moon after the winter solstice.

For Floridians in the Central Time zone, the site says to look outside at 6:33 p.m. to catch sight of the Cold Moon.

When is the first full moon of 2024?

The wolf moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and first full moon of the year rises over the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, at Ross Witham Beach on Hutchinson Island in Martin County.

Astronomers have something to howl about in January when the “Full Wolf Moon” takes to the sky on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: ‘Cold Moon’: How to see the last full moon of 2023 in Florida