The December Cold Moon is due to light up the night skies this week. It will appear largest at 4:01 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 15, and marks the final full moon of the year. The Cold Moon is the name traditionally given to the full moon that occurs in December by the Native American Mohawks, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.

The sun retired at an early hour, almost as the moon was rising, nearly full, about to shine in darkness. It was all there to be seen in the cold of December, with the high temperature in the capital reaching no higher than 43 degrees.

December's full moon, known as the Cold Moon, is the last full moon of 2024. Here's when it peaks and why it's called the Cold Moon.

Sunday brings us the final full Moon of the year, the Cold Moon. It rises in the UK at 15:20 GMT on 15 December and sets at 09:44 the following day. It won't be as big and bright as last month's Beaver Moon,

As the full Moon before the winter solstice, old European names for this Moon include the Moon before Yule and the Oak Moon. Yule was a three-day winter solstice festival in pr