Moon tonight / December 2026

Full Moon December 2026: Cold Moon

Q: When is the full moon in December 2026?

The December 2026 full moon is on December 23 at 8:28 PM EST, which is 5:28 PM PST on December 23 on the West Coast. The table shows the time in every US zone.

Q: What is the December full moon called?

It is the Cold Moon. Cold Moon is a name used by the Mohawk people for the December full moon, when winter settles in. The Cree named the month for the cracking of frozen trees.

Q: What time does the December full moon rise?

The full moon rises near sunset. The table gives moonrise that evening for New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage and Honolulu, each on its own clock, with the compass direction it appears in.

Q: Is the December 2026 full moon a supermoon?

Yes by this page’s rule. It is about 356,740 km away at the full moon, closer than 360,000 km, and NASA calls a full moon at or near its closest point to Earth a supermoon.

Q: Is the December 2026 full moon a Blue Moon?

No. A Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month or the third of four in one season, and the moon does not turn blue.

Q: Why do full moon times differ by time zone?

The moon is full at one instant for everyone on Earth. Each zone writes that instant on its own clock, so it can land on a different date late in the evening.

The Cold Moon is full on December 23 at 8:28 PM EST. Here is the time in every US zone and moonrise that evening in six cities.

Photo: “Moon rise over the Green River and sage steppe at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge”, Tom Koerner, USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain

The exact time

When the December full moon happens in each US time zone

The December 2026 full moon in each US time zone
Time zone	Date	Time
Eastern	December 23	8:28 PM EST
Central	December 23	7:28 PM CST
Mountain	December 23	6:28 PM MST
Pacific	December 23	5:28 PM PST
Alaska	December 23	4:28 PM AKST
Hawaii	December 23	3:28 PM HST

Instants from the U.S. Naval Observatory’s table of moon phases.

Moonrise

Moonrise that evening in six cities

A full moon rises close to sunset. The compass direction is where to look on the horizon.

Moonrise on the evening of the December 2026 full moon in six cities
City	Evening of	Moonrise	Direction
New York	Dec 23	3:58 PM	northeast (NE)
Chicago	Dec 23	3:50 PM	northeast (NE)
Denver	Dec 23	4:12 PM	northeast (NE)
Los Angeles	Dec 23	4:29 PM	east-northeast (ENE)
Anchorage	Dec 23	2:15 PM	north-northeast (NNE)
Honolulu	Dec 23	5:52 PM	east-northeast (ENE)

The name

Why it is called the Cold Moon

Cold Moon is a name used by the Mohawk people for the December full moon, when winter settles in. The Cree named the month for the cracking of frozen trees.

These names come from Native American, Colonial American and European traditions, and nations named the moons by their own seasons, so no one name belongs to a single people. Names follow the Old Farmer's Almanac.