Full moon to appear on Christmas Day for the first time in 38 years
A full moon will appear in the skies on Christmas day, for the first time in decades.
The last time there was a full moon on 25 December was 1977, and there won’t be another one until 2034 – so unless you want a long wait to catch a sight of this rare astronomical occurrence, it’s a good idea to head outside and look up on Christmas.
The full moon, which is the last of the year, is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs at the start of winter.
The Full Cold Moon – Full Long Nights Moon – Ice Moon
During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule.
The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
Full Moon Names and Their Meanings
Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon.
Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names.
Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year.
Here is the Farmers Almanac’s list of the full Moon names.
Christmas Day … I completed my duties traveled all over the world and delivered countless presents. Ahhh …. what a joy! Now I take my much needed brake.
Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children’s puppet show on Italian and Spanish television in the early 1960’s. The character, created by artist Maria Perego, debuted on Italian television in 1959 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe “Peppino” Mazzullo and later Davide Garbolino. The Italian nickname “Gigi” is a derivative of Luigi (“Louis”), so Topo Gigio could be translated as Louie Mouse.
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
