December 2024 Full Moon Tonight Is A Cold Moon

Full Moon: Credit NASA

The December 2024 Full Moon will occur on Sunday, December 15, beginning with a moonrise over Florida's east coast at 5:49 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (with a few minutes of variation depending on your exact location).

This is the last full moon of the year.

The Full Moon will technically be 99.8% full at 4:02 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 15, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. 

Why is December’s Full Moon Called a Full Cold Moon or Long Night’s Moon?

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, December’s Full Moon has the seasonal names of “Full Cold Moon,” “Long Night’s Moon” and the “Moon Before Yule.”

December’s full moon is often the closest full moon to the longest night of the year on the Winter Solstice.

December Full Moon and the Number 12

The number 12 is significant to the moon because there are 12 months in a calendar year based on roughly 12 full moons occurring in the year.

For math nerds, the number 12 is considered a sublime number, one “that has a perfect number of divisors, and the sum of its divisors is also a perfect number.”

Perhaps that is why ancient mathematicians chose an “hour” to represent 1/12th of the day and 1/12th of the night and 12 inches in a foot.

Full Moon High Tide

For those planning to walk, bike, or run along the beach in Florida, this Full Moon brings along with it a 4 ft. + Atlantic Ocean high tide on the east coast and a 2 ft. + high tide on Florida's Gulf Coast.