The United States military is ready to track Santa Claus‘s annual flight as children around the world eagerly anticipate his magical Christmas journey on Sunday evening.
Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD, tracks Santa’s sleigh the moment he leaves the North Pole.
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The annual tradition started in 1955 when a child dialed the wrong number when hoping to speak with Santa. The child ended up speaking with U.S. Col. Harry Shoup, the commander on duty, who asked his staff to monitor the radar for Saint Nick’s sleigh.
NORAD runs the Santa tracker program at the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, drawing more than 1,000 volunteers each year to man the phones and answer children’s calls on Christmas Eve.
Air Force Col. Elizabeth Mathias, NORAD’s chief spokeswoman, said that Santa does not file a flight plan with NORAD each year, but they are able to track Chris Kringle with “the same technology we use every single day to keep North America safe.”
Mathias said that NORAD does not know all of the capabilities of Santa’s sleigh, and they primarily track Santa using the glow of Rudolph’s nose.
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“I’ll be curious to see if our assessment of his flight this year shows us some advanced capabilities,” said Mathias.
The NORAD Santa tracker phone line starts up at 4 a.m. MST on Christmas Eve and runs until midnight. To speak with a NORAD staff member to get an update on Santa’s location, anyone can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or visit the official NORAD Santa tracker website.
