This Christmas, a full moon will light up the dark skies for the first time on December 25th since 1977.
ABC reports a NASA spokesperson confirmed that there will be a full moon on Christmas Day this year for the first time in 38 years. The celestial phenomenon will reach its peak at 6:11 AM ET and will not be reoccurring until December 25th of 2034.
The last full moon of the year, which occurs every December, is called the Full Cold Moon, Full Long Nights Moon or the Moon before Yule. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the nights of the 12th month are at "their longest and darkest" and it is when "the winter cold fastens its grip."
"Throughout December, the moon is above the horizon for a long time and the full moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it's opposite a low sun," the site explains.
"The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun," the website notes. The celestial bodies have been among the most significant signs of the birth of Christ.
As written in the Bible, it was the North Star that led the three Magi to where Jesus Christ was born. The Book of Matthew 2:7-8 states: "Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.'"
In the two next verses, it says: "They went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed."
Have a bright and joyful Christmas, everybody!
