70 Years of Tracking Santa

For the 70th year in a row the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is tracking Santa as he flies around the world delivering toys to all of the good boys and girls.

Every day of the year, NORAD defends North America using an all-domain and globally integrated approach to track everything that flies in and around Canada and the United States. On Dec. 24, NORAD adds a special mission: tracking Santa.

The tradition began in 1955, with NORAD’ predecessor the Continental Air Defense Command, after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family, and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, they now track Santa using the internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

The NORAD Tracks Santa website www.noradsanta.org features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, web store, and more. The website is available in nine languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and new this year, Korean.

The official NORAD Tracks Santa app is also in the Apple App and Google Play stores, to count down the days until Santa’s journey on mobile devices. NORAD Tracks Santa will also be available on digital media platforms.

On Dec. 24, trackers worldwide can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask our live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight MST. Also on Dec. 24, website visitors will see Santa’s flight from 4 a.m. to midnight MST.

In addition to the phone line and website, children and the young-at-heart can track Santa through mobile apps and social media platforms: