The countdown to Santa’s descent has begun, and a nifty tracking system will help kids of all ages keep an eye on ol’ St. Nick as he travels around the world.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command is year-round focused on defending our homeland, but right around the holidays they add the duty of tracking Santa's journey to their lists of tasks. Beginning Christmas Eve, NORAD will track Santa's journey across the globe at www.noradsanta.org.
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“We are proud to carry on the tradition of tracking Santa as he travels along his yuletide flight path,” said Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. “The same radars, satellites and interceptors employed on December 24 are used year-round to defend Canadian and American airspace from threats.”
How it all began
Before the website and mobile app helped kids find Santa, a local newspaper advertisement in the 1950s inadvertently started the tradition of tracking Mr. Claus. In 1955, a local newspaper advertisement encouraged kids to call Santa, but the promotional number was misprinted. Instead of its Santa hotline, kids began contacting commander on duty, U.S. Air Force Col.Harry Shoup, at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, which was the predecessor to NORAD.
Shoup quickly realized the mistake but felt obligated to assure the child he was Santa. Shoup then assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls. From there a tradition began and continued when NORAD was formed in 1958. Each year since, NORAD has reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families.
Though the digital world has helped, NORAD still has the old-fashioned hotline kids can call. Starting Dec. 24, little ones can call 1-877-HiNORAD for Santa’s up-to-date location.
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