Where is Santa Claus right now? Track his Christmas journey using NORAD
Watch Santa’s journey with help from NORAD on our streaming channel TODAY All Day, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 24 and running until 3 a.m. ET on Dec. 25. Families can also reach NORAD by phone at (877) HI-NORAD to receive Santa’s up-to-date location.
With Christmas Eve upon us, another decades-long tradition continues: NORAD’s Santa Tracker.
Every year since 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has played a crucial role for children during the holiday season. Though NORAD’s involvement in the holiday began by complete accident and to this day, the organization keeps track of and reports on the whereabouts of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander, U.S. Northern Command and NORAD told TODAY’s Joe Fryer on Dec. 24, 2022, “When Santa takes off from the North Pole, we see him on the radar right away. And then when Rudolph’s nose lights up, our infrared satellite systems pick that up as well.”
December 2020 marked 65 years of the NORAD Santa Tracker. This nearly seven-decade-long tradition began in 1955 with one child calling a misprinted phone number that came from a Christmas ad for a department store. Instead of reaching the anticipated party, the child reached U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup at Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), which preceded NORAD.
“He probably thought for a few moments that it may be some type of a prank call, but he quickly realized it was a young child looking for Santa,” Gen. VanHerck told Kerry Sanders on TODAY in Dec. 2020.
Rather than writing off the young caller, Shoup instead told them that he was Santa and that CONAD would ensure that he would be safe along his journey from the North Pole across the world.
Though Shoup passed away in 2009 at age 91, the tradition continues today.
This year, it’s anticipated that the tracker on NORAD's website will receive approximately 12 million visitors while volunteers will likely field about 150,000 phone calls on its Santa hotline to share Santa's current location and anticipated arrival time.
On its website, NORAD says that it tracks Santa using its radar system, the North Warning System, as well as satellites, and jet fighters. As for when Santa will officially arrive at each child’s home, that time can't be determined to a T.
NORAD explained on its website, “NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house. We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep!”
Each year, NORAD says that Santa’s route starts at the international date line before beginning to travel west. He typically starts in the South Pacific followed by New Zealand and Australia, then to Japan, Asia, Africa, followed by Europe, Canada, the United Sates before finishing in Mexico, Central America, and South America.
How is Santa’s trip logistically possible? Well, NORAD says that's because Santa experiences time differently than the rest of us.
“His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa it might last days, weeks or even months,” the website explains. “Santa would not want to rush the important job of delivering presents to children and spreading joy to everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa somehow functions within his own time-space continuum.”
Gen. VanHerck doesn’t take NORAD’s contribution to the holiday lightly, especially since becoming a grandfather.
“Everywhere I go, people approach me about ‘NORAD Tracks Santa Claus’ and the importance of it,” he explained. “And now that I have two young grandchildren, it is even more special for me personally, and my wife as well.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
