Santa’s Christmas Eve Journey Tracked By NORAD For 70 Years
On the other side of the world Santa and his loyal flying reindeer are already delivering presents where nighttime has fallen and all little girls and boys are tucked snug in their beds. And the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) is keeping track, making sure that the "Jolly 'Ole Elf" is traveling safely from country to country.
Laden with gifts, Santa's trip around the world began just west of the International Date Line in the Chatham Islands, earlier this morning Tuscaloosa time. They then progressed to Tonga and other island nations of the Western Pacific before heading to the Southeast Asian mainland.
This is the 70th year NORAD has operated the Santa Tracker. Oddly enough, NORAD’s mission to track Santa began by accident. As the story is told by NORAD, in 1955 a young child, trying to reach Santa, mis-dialed a printed phone number from a department store ad in the local newspaper. Instead of calling Santa, the child called what was then named the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the commander on duty that night who answered the child’s phone call, was quick to realize the mistake and, not wanting to let down the child, told the child where Santa was currently located. So began the connection between NORAD and Santa that continued when NORAD was formed in 1958.
Each year since, NORAD has dutifully reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families across the world. Corporate sponsors and volunteers man the phone bank each year. It has now become the Defense Department's largest community outreach program with millions making online contact from more than 200 countries. The phone operators take more than 10,000 calls on Christmas Eve.
Even crew members on the International Space Station get involved in Operation Santa Tracker.
Santa Tracker is now operated from a dedicated hanger at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
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