--- title: Full Moon to Rise on Christmas For First Time Since 1977 description: A full moon will light up the night sky on Christmas for the first time since 1977, a NASA spokesperson said. canonical: https://time.com/4146840/full-moon-christmas/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-12T20:06:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:41:24.100Z article:section: Science og:title: Full Moon to Rise on Christmas For First Time Since 1977 og:description: It won't happen again until 2034 og:url: https://time.com/4146840/full-moon-christmas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55ffabbac12e5e08/69887524196cf434c5039714/gettyimages-459250859.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4103 og:image:height: 2308 og:image:alt: Moon over a Christmas tree og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Full Moon to Rise on Christmas For First Time Since 1977 twitter:description: It won't happen again until 2034 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55ffabbac12e5e08/69887524196cf434c5039714/gettyimages-459250859.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Full Moon to Rise on Christmas for First Time Since 1977 > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ef1f30a2-617f-4ddd-9d9f-1d65ca0f2bee&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Best Gift This Christmas? A Rare Full Moon. [Watch (HLS stream): The Best Gift This Christmas? A Rare Full Moon.](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XwhCnBqA.m3u8) (0:34)  _Published 2015-12-12. If you're looking for the best gift for someone this year, just take them outside for this rare celestial event._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 12, 2015 8:06 PM UTC If you're looking for the best gift for someone this year, just take them outside for this rare celestial event.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 12, 2015 8:06 PM UTC Rudolph can [retire his red nose for the night.](http://abcnews.go.com/US/full-moon-light-christmas-time-1977/story?id=35724307) A full moon will light up the night sky on Christmas for the first time since 1977, a NASA spokesperson told ABC News. The celestial phenomenon won’t happen again on Christmas until 2034, NASA said. The full moon will reach its peak at 6:11 a.m. E.T., according to ABC. The last full moon of the year in December is called the Full Cold Moon, although it is also known as the Moon before Yule, according to the [Farmers’ Almanac](http://farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names/). It has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low sun, the Farmers’ Almanac said. \[[_ABC_](http://abcnews.go.com/US/full-moon-light-christmas-time-1977/story?id=35724307)\] ## Transcript [00:00] Rudolph, it looks like you can take this Christmas off. Santa [00:03] won't have any trouble getting around this year. NASA [00:06] says for the first time since 1977 there'll be a full moon [00:10] to light the way on December 25th. The last full moon of the [00:13] year is called the Full Cold Moon. But it's very rare for it to [00:16] drop in on Christmas. Thanks to longer and darker nights [00:20] they are some of the brightest you can see. If you want to [00:23] get the full effect, head outside at 6: 11 AM Eastern time to [00:26] catch the rare event in person. And don't worry, Rudolph [00:29] isn't out of a job yet. 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