The North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A joint operation with Canada and the United States, the handle aerospace defence, aerospace warning and maritime defence for North America.

Canadian Army Major Andrew Hennessey, who is stationed with NORAD in Colorado, explained it isn’t all they do.

“On the 24th of December, we have a fourth mission, which is probably our most well-known, and that is NORAD Tracks Santa,” Major Hennessey explained. “On the 24th, starting at about 5:00 a.m., you can follow along as we track Santa as he makes his way around the globe.”

The NORAD Tracks Santa operation has been happening every year since 1955, meaning it predates NORAD, when NORAD’s predecessor, CONAD, or Continental Air Defense, was in place. How it came to be is a stroke of pure luck.

An advertisement in the Colorado Springs newspaper back in 1955 had a phone number for children to call Santa. Instead, the number which was published led to the desk of Colonel Harry Shoup, who was a crew commander on duty at CONAD at the time. 

Shoup answered the call and told his staff to tell all the children who called in to provide a current location as to where Santa was. Once it became known CONAD was tracking Santa, the tradition was born as children called for the latest updates.

In 1958, NORAD came into being, and they took over the role. 

Over the years, there have been numerous updates that seemed unusual, most notably in 1960, when it was reported that Santa landed on the ice of Hudson Bay so Santa could bandage Dancer’s foot. He was then escorted by planes from the Royal Canadian Air Force back on his way.

Over the years, it has grown into quite a large operation for those who work at NORAD in Colorado. 

“We’ve got roughly 1500 volunteers that come into work shifts in our NORAD Tracks Santa operations centre,” explained Maj. Hennessey. “We start here at 4:00 a.m. Mountain Time and we end about midnight, and we take hundreds of thousands of phone calls, emails and questions on social media.”

In addition to the ability to call and ask for the latest updates about Santa Claus, children can also track Santa online, or through an app for mobile devices. 

To get the latest information on the whereabouts on Christmas Eve, you can call NORAD Tracks Santa at 1-877-HI-NORAD, send an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com or visit their website.