The figures
At 01:28 UTC on Thursday, December 24, 2026 the Moon reaches 2°14' Cancer with the Sun opposite at 2°14' Capricorn. The Moon is 356,738 km away at that instant, 27,662 km inside the 384,400 km average, which is what makes this one a supermoon: the disc runs a few per cent wider and brighter than an ordinary full moon. The degree, 2°14' Cancer, places it in the first decan of Cancer, on the axis that runs across to Capricorn. It is the 25th of the 25 lunations dated for 2026, and the cycle it belongs to is set out in what a lunation is.
Exact time where you are
That instant — 01:28 UTC on December 24, 2026 — is one moment worldwide, and only the clock reading changes, with summer time applied wherever the local rule puts the date inside it.
| City | Local time | Local date |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 20:28 the day before | 23 December |
| Los Angeles | 17:28 the day before | 23 December |
| London | 01:28 | 24 December |
| Delhi | 06:58 | 24 December |
| Sydney | 12:28 | 24 December |
| Istanbul | 04:28 | 24 December |
Why it is called the Cold Moon
The Cold Moon is the traditional North American and European name for the full Moon of December, and in 2026 it falls on December 24, 2026 at 2°14' Cancer. Those names follow the calendar month rather than the zodiac, which is why the 2026 one lands in Cancer at 2°14' Cancer while other years put it elsewhere.
Which house it falls in for your sign
Counted from each sign as the first house, this full moon at 2°14' Cancer falls here:
| Sign | House | What that house covers |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | 4th house | home, family, roots and private ground |
| Taurus | 3rd house | conversation, short trips, siblings and daily information |
| Gemini | 2nd house | money, possessions and what you consider yours |
| Cancer | 1st house | your own bearing, appearance and the first move |
| Leo | 12th house | rest, solitude, what is behind you and what runs unattended |
| Virgo | 11th house | friends, groups, networks and what you are aiming at |
| Libra | 10th house | career, public standing and what you are known for |
| Scorpio | 9th house | distance, study, belief, travel and the long view |
| Sagittarius | 8th house | shared money, debt, intimacy and what is not said out loud |
| Capricorn | 7th house | partners, opponents and anyone you deal with one to one |
| Aquarius | 6th house | work, routine, health and the small maintenance of a life |
| Pisces | 5th house | play, romance, children and anything you make for its own sake |
A full moon in Cancer
Anything within a couple of degrees of 2°14' Cancer in a natal chart is contacted directly by this one, and so is anything near the same degree of Capricorn, Libra or Aries, since those are the other three corners of the same cross.
What the full moon of December 24, 2026 marks is a position rather than an event: 2°14' Cancer, in the first decan, with the Sun at 2°14' Capricorn. The house it occupies in your own chart matters more than the sign name, and the table above gives that house for 2°14' Cancer, sign by sign.
Where this one sits in the cycle
The lunation before this one fell 15 days earlier and the next follows 14 days after December 24, 2026.
- Before it: the new moon of December 9, 2026
- After it: the new moon of January 7, 2027
- The last full moon in Cancer: January 3, 2026
Questions people ask about this
What time is the full moon on December 24, 2026?
01:28 UTC on December 24, 2026; the table above converts that single instant to six local clocks.
What sign is this full moon in?
2°14' Cancer — the first decan. The chart reading for December 24, 2026 works from that degree rather than from the sign name on its own.
Is this a supermoon?
Yes: 356,738 km, 27,662 km inside the average distance.
Does a full moon cause anything?
No. On December 24, 2026 the Moon simply reaches 2°14' Cancer; what the chart gives is a position and a house, not an event.