The National Archives Unwritten Record Blog Reveals How NORAD Tracks Santa:
This Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will have tracked Santa Claus’s journey around the world for 60 years.
Colonel Harry Shoup began the tradition in 1955, after receiving a phone call from a child expecting to reach Santa Claus. The misdirected call was the result of the child reversing two numbers of a Santa Line phone number printed in a Sears advertisement.
Colonel Shoup ran with the idea, and began releasing updates on Santa’s whereabouts to the press.
This year, 1,250 volunteers will staff the NORAD phone lines. The volunteers are a mix of Canadian and American military personnel and Department of Defense civilians. The Santa Tracker hotline can be reached at 1(877)446-6723 starting at 3AM MST on December 24th and continuing through 3AM MST on December 25th. You can also e-mail noradtrackssanta@outlook.com for an update on Santa’s location on Christmas Eve. Visit NORAD’s Santa Tracker online to follow the jolly old man’s travels, play games, or learn more about the project.
You can hear Colonel Shoup’s children reminisce about their father in this lovely StoryCorps piece.
For much more on the history of NORAD’s Santa Tracker, see this article, which traces the operation over the past 60 years.
And from NASA, a Rare Full Moon on Christmas Day (first since 1977).
“I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight — “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” A Visit from St. Nicholas.
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Thank you for a very touching and nostalgic piece about something I remember fondly from my childhood. I had no idea how that whole NORAD tracking Santa had started. I hope you enjoy your holiday season and you have a pleasant new year. – Steve