It will be the first time in decades when a full moon will light up the pre-dawn sky on Christmas, said NASA. The last time when a full moon was seen during Christmas was on December 25, 1977.

It has been told that the full moon will peak on Friday at 3:11 a.m. NASA, which called this event as a gift for holiday, revealed this news on its officials website.

This phenomenon is called the ‘Cold Moon’ in folklore, and the reason behind why it got this name is the occurrence of the ‘Cold Moon’ that appears at the beginning of the winter season in the northern hemisphere.

Experts said that the last full moon on Christmas was seen almost 40 years ago and the next is scheduled to happen on December 25, 2034.

As per NASA’s website, “The moon on such an occasion is worth remembering as the moon is more than just a celestial neighbor. Geologic history of the moon and earth are intimately tied together such that earth would be dramatically different planet without the moon”.

NASA's John Keller said the full moon will rise early on Christmas night and is visible high overhead for an entire night. The moon is slowly moving away from earth at the rate of 3.8 cm a year.

When the moon was formed at first it was just 22,000 kilometers away from earth but today, the total distance between earth and the moon is at 380,000 kilometers.