Follow Santa Claus and his reindeer around the globe

Every Christmas Eve, Norad – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – provides real-time tracking of Santa’s sleigh as it navigates the sky.

The beloved tradition dates back to 1955, when a misprint in a department store ad prompted a young child to call a military command center in Colorado and ask to speak to Santa Claus.

Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, who took the call that night, played along and assured the child he was Santa Claus. As more calls poured in, he designated an officer to handle the inquiries, starting a celebratory custom that Norad continued after its creation in 1958.

For decades, Norad has shifted its usual airspace monitoring duties to answer children’s questions about Santa’s journey and his astonishing present-day delivery.

Every year at least 100,000 children call the organization to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online – in nine languages ​​- while St. Nick speeds along the meridians of the earth.

Stay tuned for updates as we follow Santa’s magical route around the globe.

Key points

• How to track Santa’s journey

• Is the Norad Santa tracker safe from a government shutdown?

How to track Santa’s journey with Norad

23:01 , Tom Murray

NORAD has an online tracker so kids can watch Santa travel the world in real time. of the year website launched on December 1st, it currently features a village at the North Pole and a countdown to Christmas Eve.

The website will show Santa’s location from 4 ET Christmas Eve to 2 Christmas Day.

Families can also download NORAD’s Santa Tracker app in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Those interested in calling NORAD can use the telephone number 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on December 24 from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Christmas Day ET.

Google will also have its own version of one Santa’s spurs that goes live on December 24. Similar to NORAD’s tracker, Google has a Christmas Eve countdown clock and various games available before the Santa card goes live.

Read more:

Where is Santa Claus? Here’s how to follow his journey this Christmas Eve

Welcome to The Independent’s Santa tracker live blog!

22:37 , Tom Murray

Hello and Merry Christmas! Santa is finally coming to town, and we’re ready to watch his journey live as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) once again tracks him around the globe.

It’s T-minus 10 hours until he leaves, so get ready, put on some Christmas tunes and prepare for his departure with us.