The Cold War Origins of NORAD’s Santa Tracker

On December 25, 2024By Littum

Good morning, Chicago.

The Christmas tradition has become almost global in scope: children from all over the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, bestowing gifts and defying time.

Each year, at least 100,000 children call the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages, from English to Japanese.

Every other night, NORAD scans the skies for potential threats, such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are asking questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”

“There’s screaming and giggling and laughing,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer.

Sommers often says during the call that everyone should be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Did you hear what he said? We’re going to bed early.”

NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa Claus has endured since the Cold War, predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics. The tradition continues regardless of government shutdowns, like the one in 2018, and this year.

Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing.

And here are the best stories you need to know to start your day.

Bethlehem marks another subdued Christmas Eve amid the war in Gaza

Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza.

The excitement and jubilation that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week was nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that usually adorn Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that normally fill the square.

Pope Francis is launching a one-year anniversary that will test his endurance and Rome’s patience

Pope Francis ushered in the Holy Year 2025 yesterday, inaugurating a celebration of the Catholic Church expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in a test of the pope’s stamina and ability to welcome them.

For Chicago’s interfaith families, Christmas and Hanukkah are a chance to explore new traditions

Peter Kujawinski is pleased with the twist he’s given to his family’s “super-cheesy Christmas family pajama” tradition this year.

“I haven’t told anyone yet,” he said. “But I ordered Hanukkah pajamas because you have to take advantage of (Hanukkah) being on the same day.”

For Peter, 50, who was raised Roman Catholic, and his wife, Nancy Kujawinski, who was raised in a Reform Jewish family, Hanukkah, which begins on Christmas Day, brings their two sets of already intertwined traditions into even closer proximity.

‘A strong connection’: Northwestern, Lurie creates a choir of children born with heart disease

Each child had already undergone at least three open heart surgeries.

They had endured countless hours in doctors’ offices and hospitals after being born with a serious heart condition.

But this fall, the kids tried a new, very different tactic to boost their well-being: They joined a choir. Fourteen children, ages 8 to 16, with a condition called single ventricular circulation, or “Fontan” circulation, met once a week for two months to learn singing and breathing techniques and practice songs for a winter concert at Northwestern University. Researchers at Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music created the group to assess the health benefits of singing in a choir for children living with heart disease.

The FDA says the decongestant in many cold medications doesn’t work. So what does?

Changes are coming to the cold and cough aisle at your local pharmacy: U.S. officials are moving to phase out the leading decongestant found in hundreds of over-the-counter medications, concluding that it doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion.

Phenylephrine is used in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other drugs, but experts have long questioned its effectiveness. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration proposed formally revoking its use in pills and liquid solutions, setting in motion a process that is likely to force drugmakers to remove or reformulate products.

PADS Lake County buys former Waukegan motel to convert to shelter

PADS Lake County purchased a former 74-room motel in Waukegan to renovate the building into Lake County’s first permanent homeless shelter.

Now housed in places like rotating church basements at night and left alone during the day to go to work or send their children to school, PADS Lake County Executive Director Allen Swilley said the permanent house will greatly increase the chance of success. for families.

Netflix will air 2 NFL games on Christmas Day. Here’s what you need to know.

Netflix will have one of its biggest days today since the site launched in 1998, broadcasting two NFL games for the first time.

“NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix” begins with a two-hour pregame show at 10 CST — including a taped performance by Mariah Carey singing “All I Want for Christmas is You” — before the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs. The Baltimore Ravens face the Houston Texans in the second game. Beyoncé will perform during the Ravens-Texans halftime show.

Netflix’s 282.3 million subscribers in more than 190 countries will be able to stream the games, marking the first time an outlet has distributed an NFL game globally. Netflix will have the games available in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

Column: It’s another bleak Christmas for the Chicago Bears. This is not what was promised.

Who would have ever imagined that the Chicago Bears would be here Christmas morning with a football present and a dark lump of something under a scraped tree that looks like it belongs on Mount Crumpit.

This was definitely not what was promised. It wasn’t what anyone imagined back in the summer when the “Hard Knocks” hype peaked, when all the growing optimism felt justified as general manager Ryan Poles touted his head coach’s management style and the depth of the offense. line he built.

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Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Became a Christmas Icon

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was conceived for a purely Scrooge-like reason – to make money.

However, its creator saw the Montgomery Ward marketing campaign as an opportunity to be as bold in his writing as the fantastic flying stag with a dazzlingly bright beak he invented was called upon to pull Santa’s sleigh through the fog.

Robert Lewis May wrote the original story — about 100 rhyming sentences spread over 32 pages — in 1939. It preceded fellow Dartmouth College grad Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” book with almost two decades.

More than 80 years after its inception, here’s how Rudolph — a total Chicago concoction — became a Christmas icon.