As midnight approaches on December 25th, Santa Claus embarks on his global journey, visiting one time zone after another. This incredible journey is tracked by NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and is visible on their popular Santa tracker.
Starting early on Christmas Eve, the tracker shows Santa zig-zagging across the globe, delivering presents in a 24-hour whirlwind. His path progresses from east to west, following the nightfall across different parts of the world throughout December 24th.
This year marks the tracker’s nearing 70th anniversary, a tradition born from a surprisingly simple mistake: a misdialed phone number. In 1955, a Colorado Springs newspaper advertisement for a local Sears store included a number for children to call Santa. While legend often attributes the tracker’s origin to a misprinted number, a 2014 Gizmodo article revealed a child misdialed the number, reaching a rather annoyed CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command) crew commander.
A few weeks later, as Christmas approached, the commander recognized a public relations opportunity. He persuaded the command to issue a humorous statement, pledging to track and protect Santa’s journey. This playful response marked the beginning of NORAD’s annual Santa tracking tradition.
Today, NORAD relies on hundreds of volunteers to field over 100,000 calls each year from children eager to know Santa’s location. The virtual Santa on the tracker has also evolved over the years, notably donning a mask in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, a U.S. Air Force general reassured the public that Santa won’t encounter any drones, allaying concerns following recent drone sightings along the U.S. East Coast.
The NORAD hotline remains open until 2 a.m. EST on December 25th. You can reach them at 1-877-HI-NORAD or 1-877-446-6723.