NORAD Celebrating 60 Years of Tracking Santa This Year

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of tracking Santa’s holiday journey.

The tradition of tracking Santa started back in 1955 when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct with the printed phone number. However, the phone number was misprinted and instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center and ever since the tradition grew and continues through today.

NORAD Tracks Santa website, noradsanta.org, launches on December 1, 2015 and features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, activities, and more. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.

Parents can also download the official NORAD Tracks Santa apps available through Windows, Apple and Google Play stores, so children can countdown the days until Santa’s launch on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking opportunities are also offered on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+. Santa followers just need to type “@noradsanta” into each search engine to get started.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. MST (2:01 a.m. EST) on Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight. NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will stream videos on the website as Santa makes his way over various locations. Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com. Any time on Dec. 24, Windows Phone users can ask Cortana for Santa’s location, and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa.