Full Moon on Christmas For First Time Since 1977, Same Year as Original 'Star Wars' Was Released

SHERRI LONON (Patch Staff)

Rudolph might be able to take a year off from Santa’s annual trek around the world this year. It seems the moon will be more than bright enough to stand in for his glowing red nose.

The experts at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center anticipate a near full moon Christmas Eve with a peak Christmas Day at 6:11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

And did you know that the last time there was a full Moon on Christmas was the year the original Star Wars movie was released? The Old Farmers Almanac knew.

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That will be the first time the full moon has made a Christmas Day appearance since 1977, according to the Weather Channel. The well-timed occurrence isn’t expected to repeat until 2034.

Like full moons in all other months, Native Americans have special names for December’s. The moon is known as the Oak Moon, Cold Moon or Long Nights Moon, according to Space.com. That website points out that the December full moon “rises around sunset and sets around sunrise; this is the only night in the month when the moon is in the sky all night long. The rest of the month, the moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.”