As the full Moon closest to the winter solstice, this is the Long Night Moon. The plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth nearly matches the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.

When the path of the Sun appears lowest in the sky for the year, the path of the full Moon opposite the Sun appears highest in the sky. For the Washington, DC, area, on Tuesday evening, December 29, 2020, moonrise will be at 4:32 PM, sunset will be 23 minutes later at 4:55 PM, the Moon will reach its high point for the night (75.8 degrees above the horizon) just after midnight at 12:15 AM on Wednesday morning, sunrise will be at 7:26 AM, and moonset will be 33 minutes later at 7:59 AM EST.

The Moon will be in the sky for a total of 15 hours 27 minutes, with 14 hours 31 minutes of this when the Sun is down, making Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, December 29 to 30, 2020, the longest full Moon night of the year.

The Cold Moon will have a distinctively high trajectory across the sky. This results in the moon being visible over the horizon for a longer period of time.

It is also called the ‘Long Night Moon’ as the event occurs on one of the longest nights of the year. This is because the date is fairly near to the winter solstice. As it takes place just after Christmas, the full moon is called the ‘Moon After Yule’ in Europe as well.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the name Cold Moon has seeped in from some traditions observed by the native Americans. The name refers to the “frigid conditions of this time of year”.

December Full Moon Names From Native American Tribes

Kaitvitjuitk (Inuit). Cold Moon (Celtic). Night Moon (Taos). Respect Moon (Hopi). Bitter Moon (Chinese). Peach Moon (Choctaw). Twelfth Moon (Dakotah). Big Winter Moon (Creek) Real Goose Moon (Kiowa). Cold Time Moon (Mohawk). Ashes Fire Moon (San Juan). Oak Moon (Medieval English). Big Bear’s Moon (Winnebago). Long Night Moon (Neo-Pagan). Popping Trees Moon (Arapaho). Running Wolves Moon (Cheyenne). Frost Fish Moon (Passamaquoddy). Cold Moon, Long Nights Moon (Algonquin). Snow Moon, Before Yule Moon (Cherokee). Oak Moon : Full, : Snow Moon Dark (Janic). Popping Tress Moon, Deer Horn Shedding Moon (Sioux).

Other moon names : Wolf Moon, Turning Moon, Heavy Snow Moon, Aerra Geola, Under Burn Moon, Big Winter Moon, Winter Maker Moon, Yellow Leaves Moon, Little Finger Moon, Mid-Winter Moon, Wintermonat, Small Spirits Moon.

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