The North American Aerospace Defense Command is once again keeping track of Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve!  The NORAD Tracks Santa website 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.

Other Tracking Options

Official NORAD Tracks Santa apps are also available for your smartphones 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.

What Happens on Christmas Eve?

Starting at 12:01 a.m. MST on December 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 to various locations. Then, at 4 a.m. MST, 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. Anytime on Christmas Eve, Windows Phone users can ask Cortana for Santa’s location, and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa.

History

It all started in 1955 when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted.  Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center.  Thus began the tradition, which NORAD carried on since it was created in 1958.

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