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We're Getting A Rare "Full Cold Moon" On Christmas Night
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 15, 2015
Modified Dec 15, 2015
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 15, 2015
Modified Dec 15, 2015
Share
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(This full moon photo is brought to you by Shutterstock)
On December 25th, 1977, Charlie Chaplin died in his sleep in Switzerland at the age of 88.
Back in the U.S., the Bee Gees "How Deep Is Your Love" and Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again" played on the radio.
Penn State beat Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Kids were hoping to find Star Wars action figures under the tree... but found disappointment instead.
Jimmy Carter was in the Oval Office, probably grinning.
It was a fairly uneventful date in history, except there was also a full moon that night. The last Christmas night full moon we've had in 38 years, actually. That's all about to change, though.
A NASA spokesperson told ABC that "a full moon will occur on Christmas for the first time since 1977 and will reach its peak size at 6:11 a.m. ET." After this, we won't see another December 25th full moon until 2034. The Founders will be all grown up by then. The Millennials will be middle-aged. The rest of us will be too old to give a shit about full moon.
According to the Farmer's Almanac, December's full moon is called a Full Cold Moon—"it is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark." They also claim that "if a snowstorm begins when the moon is young, it will cease at moonrise." They have no predictions for what will happen when we're experiencing springtime temperatures during a Full Cold Moon, however, so we're in uncharted waters with this one.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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