
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
Vote In favor of Your Favored Pet Consideration Administration05.06.2024 - 2
Banks for High Fixed Store Rates: Amplify Your Reserve funds06.06.2024 - 3
'Inflaming tensions': Bedouin mayor slams Ben-Gvir's unauthorized visit after meeting cancellation02.12.2025 - 4
Vote in favor of your Favored kind of footwear25.09.2023 - 5
High velocity Internet services for Metropolitan Regions06.06.2024
Merck urges science-led US vaccine schedule after CDC trims childhood vaccine list
Cuba fights to contain spread of mosquito-borne chikungunya virus
James Webb Space Telescope watches 'Jekyll and Hyde' galaxy shapeshift into a cosmic monster
Planet-eating stars hint at Earth's ultimate fate
Phenomenal Web-based MBA Stages for Proficient Headway
Monetary Strengthening: Assuming Command over Your Cash
Germany and trade unions kick off tough public-sector wage talks
Cocoa Prices Undercut Amid the Prospects of Abundant Supplies
A volcanic eruption may have catalyzed the plague's arrival in Europe, study suggests













