The NORAD Santa Tracker was created December 24, 1955.
NORAD stands for the North American Aerospace Defend Command.
It started when Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup got a phone call from a young child regarding Santa Claus.
A local newspaper in Colorado Springs made a typo and put the number of The Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center.
Within the newspaper ad itself it told children to call the number on the page to call Santa It just so happened that the number was of the center instead.
And so for the rest of night, until NORAD was formed in 1958, they answered the calls looking for Santa.
Around 70 people, including volunteers, help set up the website, app, and phone number with at least 1,500 people from the Department of Defense Personnel who volunteer their time on Christmas Eve to answer the children’s questions wondering Santa’s present location.
“I find it really cool that some people would go out of their way on Christmas Eve instead of spending time with their family to help out and do this instead,” said sophomore Jordon Diaz.
What is it?
The NORAD Santa tracker is a program created by the North American Aerospace Defense Command that simulates Santa’s flight path on Christmas Eve.
While the website itself is active since the start of December, they only really begin tracking on Christmas Eve
“My brother, Michael, and I, when we were younger, used to always go on website near Christmas time,” said sophomore Matthew Tirador.
How do they do it?
NORAD uses satellites, radar, and jet planes to keep track of Santa’s journey from the North Pole as he delivers presents to children.
You can see where Santa is in real-time on their website, mobile apps, and social media, making it an interesting way for families to celebrate Christmas together.
If you want to start tracking Santa, visit NORAD.
https://www.noradsanta.org/en/
