Santa Tracker: How the US Army tracks Santa Claus

When is Santa Claus coming? For many children there is no more important question in the Advent season. The US command NORAD provided a precise answer. Every year it follows Santa Claus on his journey.

This tradition has existed for 67 years. Hundreds of volunteers sit in the switchboard of the North American Air Defense Command NORAD – short for “North American Aerospace Defense Command” – in Colorado Springs on December 24.

There are over 100,000 calls and millions of clicks on the Website noradsanta.org. Everything revolves around the question: where in the world is Santa Claus traveling with his sleigh to distribute gifts?

“Santa is a few minutes away from Chichi-Jima Island in Japan,” says former NORAD commander Charles Jacobi. “On the east coast of the United States, he will appear between 9 p.m. and midnight.” That’s enough time for American children, after all they don’t open the presents until the morning of December 25th.

“Are you really Santa Claus?”

The action came about by accident in 1955. On Christmas Eve, Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup’s phone rang. A department store had given the wrong number in a Christmas ad – its number.

“The red phone rang,” Shoup said years later in a television interview. “I thought it was the Pentagon, but it was a child’s voice asking, ‘Are you really Santa Claus?'” The colonel thought he was joking at first, but quickly realized the kid on the phone was serious, so Shoup got on until the question came at the end: “How do you manage, Santa, to distribute all the presents?” His answer: “That’s the magic of Christmas.”

High Tech Santa Claus Chase

Shoup quickly realized there was something bigger to be made of this call. Since then, the “NORAD tracks Santa” campaign has grown into what it is today – a high-tech Santa Claus pursuit with radar, satellites and fighter jets, which is used to promote the image of the US Air Force and is virtually reproduced on the computer screen.

Even celebrities answer the phone from time to time. Last year, US President Joe Biden personally took calls in front of the television camera – and strictly reminded children that Santa Claus only brings presents if they are in bed and asleep between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Biden was reminded that Santa especially likes it when he’s given some cookies and a glass of milk. In the end, it’s a heartwarming American tradition, whether you believe in Santa Claus or not.