
It’s back! In what has become an annual ritual for millions on Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is tracking Santa Claus’s journey from the North Pole to deliver gifts to children across the globe.
NORAD’s Santa Claus tracker website — NORADSanta.org — includes a map that allows users to track Santa’s location in real time. The site attracts tens of millions of visitors every year.
Beginning at midnight on Christmas Eve, the site utilizes satellite mapping technology and digital animation to simulate the route of Santa’s reindeer and sleigh.
The tracker also features a live count of gifts delivered by Jolly Old St. Nick. At the time of this publication, that figure was more than 1.3 billion.
NORAD’s history of tracking Santa
The practice began in 1955 when a child accidentally called the unlisted number of what was then the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, asking for Santa Claus.
Not wanting to disappoint the young caller, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the command center’s director of operations, “instructed his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole,” according to NORAD. Each year since, NORAD has dutifully reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families.
The binational military organization, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., eventually enlisted volunteers to answer a dedicated phone line to give updates on Santa’s whereabouts. In recent years, those volunteers have included pop stars, presidents and first ladies.
And the hotline still exists: You can call 877-HI-NORAD (877-446-6723) to reach one of the call center’s operators. (President Trump is scheduled to field NORAD Santa calls from Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon.) Last Christmas Eve, it logged more than 300,000 calls.
Just don’t ask when Santa will arrive at your house.
“NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house,” the organization explains on its FAQ page. “We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep!”
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Four countries to boycott Eurovision 2026 over Israel’s inclusion - 2
Investigating Free Cell Phones: What You Really want to Be aware - 3
ACA subsidies latest: Making sense of what's happening with health care after Republicans revolt, forcing a vote on funding extension - 4
Flu illness count nears 5 million, with New York City among the hardest hit - 5
'The best gift ever': Baby is born after the rarest of pregnancies, defying all odds
Earth’s magnetic field protects life on Earth from radiation, but it can move, and the magnetic poles can even flip
Lawsuit claims ChatGPT exacerbated man's delusions leading to murder-suicide
Ukraine Now Using Drone Boats To Attack Russian Riverine Targets
A few Exemplary Chinese Dishes, Which Are Famous Around the world
More parents refusing this shot that prevents serious bleeding at birth
The Best Web-based Courses for Ability Advancement
Empathy and reasoning aren’t rivals – new research shows they work together to drive people to help more
Exploring Programming Greatness: A Survey of \Easy to use Connection points\
Instructions to Distinguish the Wellbeing Dangers Related with 5G Pinnacles













