All are invited to attend the Full Moon Bonfire.
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2022
Location: The beach between Boardwalks 1 and 2
Sunset – 5:13 pm
Moonrise – 5:33 pm
High Tide – 8:25 pm
Full Cold Moon
The actual full moon is Wednesday at 11:09 pm but to allow us hopefully to see the moon rise out of the ocean, we have scheduled the bonfire celebration on the beach for Thursday, December 8. This month’s full moon may be called the “Full Cold Moon” but hopefully the evening will be cool enough to enjoy the fire but not truly a cold evening, and perfect for a great time for a fire on the beach with family and friends.
To keep things simple, each person brings what you want: food, drinks, chairs, and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire and, hopefully, a full moon.
People ask if the bonfire will be held if it’s rainy. The bonfire will be cancelled if it is raining or rain is threatening as few would be comfortable attending.
By terms of the permit, the fire needs to be out no later than 10:00 pm. The earlier sunset gives us plenty of time to enjoy the evening.
December’s full moon has a high trajectory in the sky, which means that it will be above the horizon for longer than most full moons.
The International Space Station will be doing a fly-over on Thursday beginning at 6:57 pm. It appears in the west and disappears three minutes later in the south-southwest. For those who wish to observe a longer fly-over, one will also be visible on Wednesday December 7 beginning at 6:07 pm in the northwest and appearing for seven minutes before disappearing in the southeast. You can find the times for all visible fly-overs at spotthestation.nasa.gov.
While gathering information about moonrise, I found this interesting paragraph on almanac.com:
“To most of us in North America, this is a dark time of year and the sunsets come exceedingly early. It might surprise you to learn that the earliest sunsets come several weeks before the winter solstice, not on the solstice, as many would guess. This puzzles people, but it’s actually a reliable yearly sequence.
Almanac.com
- First comes the earliest sunset, in early December.
- Then there’s the winter solstice half a month later—on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere—the day with the fewest minutes of daylight.
- Finally, another two weeks later, in early January, we get our murkiest morning – the latest sunrise.”
When I researched sunset times for us, I found the earliest sunset (5:13 pm) began on November 28 and continues at that time until December 10 when it goes to 5:14 pm. Our latest sunrise begins at 7:22 am on January 3 where it continues through January 13.
Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar:
- Saturday, January 7 (again rescheduled for day after actual full moon so moonrise is after sunset)
- Monday, February 6 (again rescheduled for day after actual full moon so moonrise is after sunset)
- Tuesday, March 7.
There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or bring your house guests.
How the Full Cold Moon Got Its Name
Per the Old Farmers Almanac, December is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark, thus Full Cold Moon. Some other full moon names for this month: - Drift Clearing Moon
- Frost Exploding Trees Moon
- Hoar Frost Moon
- Little Spirit Moon
- Long Night Moon
- Mid-winter Moon
- Moon of the Popping Trees
- Moon When the Deer Shed Their Antlers
- Snow Moon
- Winter Maker Moon
One web site (http://newsclipper.hubpages.com/hub/The-Moon-Facts-Trivia-and-Folklore) says the Cherokee Indians called it the Snow Moon and the English Medieval name was the Oak Moon.
Another web site (https://www.space.com/16830-full-moon-calendar.html) says the Chinese call it Bitter Moon.
-Submitted by Judy Morr
(Image credit: Old Farmer’s Almanac)