Where in the World is Santa Claus?

This year marks 60 years that NORAD has been tracking Santa and children everywhere (and some adults) want to know where Santa is.

But why did the Air Force and Department of Defense start tracking Santa in the first place? It all started with a misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper. On Dec. 24, 1955 a call was placed to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Co. But it wasn’t the president or a general calling; instead, it was a little girl in Colorado Springs who wanted to know the whereabouts of Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick.

She was simply following the directions of a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co advertisement in the local newspaper that stated “Hey, Kiddies! Call me direct and be sure and dial the correct number.” Yet, the number published was printed incorrectly which led the little girl to call the CONAD Commander-in Chief’s operations “hotline”.

Colonel Harry Shoup was duty that night, who has become well known as “Santa Colonel”, received many calls that night requesting to know about Santa. Rather than hanging up and explaining they had reached the wrong station, he and his operators found the location of Santa Claus and reported it to every child who called in that night.

Thus, began the tradition of tracking Santa, which has been carried on by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and created by the governments of Canada and the U.S. in 1958. Today, through satellite systems, high-powered radars and jet fighters, NORAD tracks Santa Claus as he makes his yearly journey around the world visiting every home.

Live updates are provided through the NORAD Tracks Santa Website (delivered in seven languages), http://www.noradsanta.org/, over phone lines, 1-877-HI-NORAD, and by email, [email protected], to keep curious children and their families informed about the whereabouts of Santa and when it’s time for bed.

Children, families and those young-at-heart are welcome to track Santa through the website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and TroopTube.tv. To follow NORAD on any of the sites please type in @noradsanta into the search engine and begin your tracking or watch videos from NORAD Santa Cams of Santa and his reindeer!

So this Christmas Eve, thousands of the nation’s Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines will be staffing the telephones and computers to answer calls and emails from around the world about where in the world is Santa!