The closest moon of the year arrives on Christmas Eve

december holds the longest night, and three days later the nearest moon of the year. it does not end quietly. it ends bright.

The lunar calendar for December 2026 holds one new moon, one full moon and two quarter moons. The New Moon falls in Sagittarius on 9 December. The Full Moon, the Cold Moon, falls in Cancer on 24 December, and it is the closest full moon of the year: perigee arrives seven hours after the moon is exactly full.

All times are UTC first, then US Eastern and Pacific, Central European and Bali. In December the UK is on GMT, the same as UTC. The solstice falls on 21 December at 20:49 UTC.

Every moon phase in the lunar calendar for December 2026

• Last Quarter in Virgo, Tuesday 1 December, 06:08 UTC. 1:08am ET · Monday 30 November, 10:08pm PT · 07:08 CET · 2:08pm in Bali.
• New Moon in Sagittarius, Wednesday 9 December, 00:51 UTC. Tuesday 8 December, 7:51pm ET · 4:51pm PT · 01:51 CET · 8:51am in Bali.
• First Quarter in Pisces, Thursday 17 December, 05:42 UTC. 12:42am ET · Wednesday 16 December, 9:42pm PT · 06:42 CET · 1:42pm in Bali.
• Full Moon in Cancer, the Cold Moon, Thursday 24 December, 01:28 UTC. Wednesday 23 December, 8:28pm ET · 5:28pm PT · 02:28 CET · 9:28am in Bali.
• Last Quarter in Libra, Wednesday 30 December, 18:59 UTC. 1:59pm ET · 10:59am PT · 19:59 CET · Thursday 31 December, 2:59am in Bali.

December carries two last quarters, one at each end. The November lunar calendar has the Beaver supermoon in Gemini, and every new and full moon date to 2028 is listed in the journal.

The New Moon in Sagittarius, 9 December 2026

The New Moon on 9 December sits at roughly seventeen degrees of Sagittarius, with the Sun at the same degree. The moon is between us and the Sun, so the face turned toward earth is unlit. There is nothing to see, and that is the entire event.

In astrology, Sagittarius is described as a fire sign concerned with distance and the long view. A new moon here lands in the busiest social fortnight of the northern year, and the tradition reads it as the point for naming where you want to be pointed next, before the year closes and decides for you. None of that is predictive, and astrology has no peer-reviewed evidence base. What the schedule does is force a question you would otherwise push into January.

Why December's full moon is called the Cold Moon

The name comes from North American almanac tradition, marking the month the cold sets in. The same moon is recorded as the Long Night Moon, because it rises closest to the longest night and stays above the horizon longer than almost any other, and in older English usage as the Moon Before Yule. These are folk names rather than astronomical designations, so lists differ.

The Cold Moon supermoon in Cancer, 24 December

This is the phase worth setting an alarm for, and the best full moon of 2026. It falls at about two degrees of Cancer, opposite a Sun that entered Capricorn at the solstice three days earlier, and reaches full at 356,738 kilometres from earth. Perigee, the closest point of the orbit, follows only seven hours later at 356,650 kilometres.

A full moon nearer than roughly 361,900 kilometres is what most sources call a supermoon, and December clears that line by a wide margin. It is nearer than every other full moon this year, including November's Beaver Moon at 360,765 kilometres. Of the thirteen in 2026, this is the closest.

What that buys you is modest: a disc perhaps seven per cent wider and a little brighter, which the eye does not reliably register without a photograph. Higher tides. And because it falls near the solstice it rises early and stays up nearly all night. If you have a clear eastern horizon, look just after moonrise on 23 December, when the low-horizon illusion makes it look enormous. That is perspective rather than distance, and still worth a coat.

How to use the lunar calendar for December 2026

Treat the dates as a rhythm rather than a forecast. December has a particular shape this year, because the dark half runs straight into the solstice.

• 1 to 9 December, the dark half. Closing, paying, clearing. The light is at its thinnest and so is your capacity.
• 9 to 17 December, planting. Name the direction for next year while nobody is asking you to announce it. Sagittarius wants the honest answer, not the impressive one.
• 17 to 24 December, building, and the solstice. The longest night sits in this window, the moon already ninety-three per cent lit. Rest is the work here, not the reward for it.
• 24 to 30 December, seeing. Full moons reveal rather than resolve. In Cancer, what becomes visible is usually about home and who looks after whom.

If you time haircuts to the moon, the lunar hair calendar for December lists the best cutting days and the feng shui haircut calendar for the solstice month gives the almanac version, which does not always agree with the lunar one. What to wear through the four phases is set out in moon phase dressing.

Frequently asked questions about the December 2026 lunar calendar

When is the full moon in December 2026?

The full moon in December 2026 is on Thursday 24 December at 01:28 UTC, which is 8:28pm ET and 5:28pm PT on Wednesday 23 December. It falls at about two degrees of Cancer and is known as the Cold Moon.

When is the new moon in December 2026?

The new moon in December 2026 is on Wednesday 9 December at 00:51 UTC, which is 7:51pm ET and 4:51pm PT on Tuesday 8 December. It falls at about seventeen degrees of Sagittarius.

Is the December 2026 full moon a supermoon?

Yes, and it is the closest full moon of 2026. The Cold Moon reaches full at 356,738 kilometres from earth, well inside the roughly 361,900 kilometre threshold generally used to define a supermoon, and perigee follows only seven hours later at 356,650 kilometres.

Why is the December full moon called the Cold Moon?

The name comes from North American almanac tradition and marks the month the cold sets in. It is also recorded as the Long Night Moon, because a full moon near the solstice rises early and stays up far longer than usual, and as the Moon Before Yule. These are folk names rather than official astronomical ones.

When is the winter solstice in 2026?

The December solstice falls on Monday 21 December 2026 at 20:49 UTC, which is 3:49pm ET and 12:49pm PT. It is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the southern. The moon is about ninety-three per cent lit that night.

The longest night and the nearest moon, three days apart. Whatever you did not finish, the calendar says stop and look up first.

With love from Bali,
Myrah