As you might imagine, this is a very busy time of year for Santa Claus, who is preparing to fly in his cherry-red sleigh, soaring through the night sky. Where is he now? When will he reach our town? Those questions are best answered by a Santa Tracker from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (better known as NORAD), a defence organisation operated jointly by the US and Canada. It’s the webpage that will get millions of views in the next weeks, starting today. Yes, Santa Tracker will go live today.
A tradition from the Cold War era, predating Mariah Carey and Wham!, the tracker continues to do its job despite government shutdowns, the pandemic or even if Donald Trump is in the White House. It remains to be seen if his uncalled-for “piggy” comment will put the man on the “naughty” list.
According to AP, each year, at least 100,000 kids call into NORAD to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in several languages.
The online tracker shows the location of Saint Nicholas and his reindeer on a 3D world map. There is also a running count of Santa’s gift deliveries.
NORAD’s job is to defend North American airspace from foreign threats. It took on the job of keeping track of Santa from its precursor, the Continental Air Defense Command.
In December 1955, Colonel Harry W. Shoup of the Continental Air Defense Command received a call on a red telephone (part of an alert system) at his post in Colorado Springs. “Are you Santa Claus?” a voice at the other end of the telephone asked, according to an account of the incident published in 2021 by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The number for the command (ME 2-6681) had been published in a local Sears, Roebuck and Co newspaper advertisement, which mentioned the line as a private phone number for Santa. Instead of disconnecting, he told his team members that each child who dialled the number should be informed of Santa’s coordinates.
When the Obama administration was in place, some children who placed a call to the NORAD line were greeted with a high-profile volunteer: Michelle Obama, then the first lady.