December 2025 Full Moon Date: How to see the Cold Supermoon and how it got its name
It’s the final full moon of the year - and it’s a bit special.
It's a sight that has inspired myths, superstitions and awe through the centuries - when the night sky is lit up by the seemingly-perfect glowing sphere of a full moon.
We experience one full moon every month, with each given a different evocative name.
Here's how to see the final one of 2025 - the Cold Moon, which has the added bonus of being a Supermoon.
What is a full moon?
A full moon is when the moon appears as a complete circle in the sky. The moon produces no light of its own, so this only happens when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun - meaning the whole of the near side of the moon is fully lit up.
When is the Cold Moon in 2025?
The next full moon, or ‘Cold Moon’, will reach its peak on Thursday, December 4, at 11.14pm . This time only applies to the UK, however, as when the full moon rises and sets depends on where you are on the planet. If it’s cloudy when it peaks you'll still be able to see it for much of the night, when it will be almost imperceptibly less full.
Why is it called the Cold Moon?
Like many of the names we give to the full moons, the Cold Moon has its origins on the the other side of the Atlantic, being used by Native Americans. The originators of the name are apparently the Mohawke tribe, who saw the moon herald the start of the coldest part of the winter, when times were at their toughest.
What is a Supermoon?
A Supermoon is a phenomenon that occurs when the full moon or new moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth in its orbit, known as perigee. Because the moon is closer to Earth during this time, it appears larger and brighter than usual, hence the name. It means that the moon appears up to 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it’s at its furthest from Earth.
This year we have a rare occurance in that the last three full moons of the year are all Supermoons - the Hunter Moon, the Beaver Moon and the Cold Moon.
Read more: Space race: Why we need to be custodians of the cosmos as Scotland takes giant leap
Why do full moons have different names?
Full moon names are often attributed to Native American tribes that would give full moons nicknames to keep track of them as they didn’t record time using months found in the Julian or Gregorian calendar. Most of the names were linked to a specific event, for example this wolf moon is associated with the presence of howling wolves nearby their camps at this time.
Other moons like the blood moon were thought to be caused by Jaguars who attacked the moon and left it bleeding hence the red colour. These lunar systems and their names differed between tribes but it seems Colonial Americans adopted some of these names and incorporated them into their own calendar systems - their use then spread to other countries, including the United Kingdom.
What are all the monthly full moons called?
Here’s a full list of the full moon names, and their corresponding months.
- January: Wolf Moon
- February: Snow Moon
- March: Worm Moon
- April: Pink Moon
- May: Flower Moon
- June: Strawberry Moon
- July: Buck Moon
- August: Sturgeon Moon
- September: Harvest Moon
- October: Hunter's Moon
- November: Beaver Moon
- December: Cold Moon
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