Cold Moon 2024: What is it? What is the religious significance for ...

Cold Moon 2024: The Full Moon on December 15, also called the “Cold Moon,” marks an important celestial event towards the end of this year.

A passenger plane passes in front of the moon near the Fiumicino airport, in Rome, Italy, on December 15.(REUTERS)

Due to the celestial position of the Earth's orbit around the sun, the moon will be visible full at night throughout the weekend, making it the longest full moon event in a lunar cycle.

The Full Moon in December is called by different names in various parts of the world.

Some among them are Yule or the Oak Moon, Datta or Dattatreya Jayanti Festival Moon, Karthikai Deepam Festival Moon, etc. The Maine Farmers' Almanac called it the Cold Moon because it occurs closer to the winter solstice, giving long and cold winter nights.

“As the full Moon closest to the winter solstice, this will be the Long Night Moon. The plane of the Moon's orbit around Earth nearly matches the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. When the path of the Sun appears lowest in the sky for the year, the path of the full Moon opposite the Sun appears near its highest,” reads an explainer by NASA.

The moon will be at its fullest and brightest on December 15 and will remain full for about three nights over the weekend. Unlike certain eclipses, this event can be witnessed with the naked eye.

The Cold Moon will reach its peak brightness around 4.02 am EST on December 15 (2.32 pm IST) and will be visible for several hours leading into the night. The chances of witnessing this unique celestial event remain unclear for people in India.

This full moon corresponds with Datta Jayanti or Dattatreya Jayanti for Hindus, who commemorate the birth of the Hindu God Dattatreya (Datta). This falls on the month of Margashira or Margazhi in the Hindu calendar.

The full moon also falls when Hindus in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and neighbouring Sri Lanka observe the day as Karthikai Deepam. According to NASA, the moon lines up with the Pleiades constellation (Krittikai or Karttikai). People in these regions light up diyas to celebrate the festival over a few days.

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