Two Christmas Eves later, the northern command post at Saint-Hubert in Quebec, Canada, began sharing regular updates of a sleigh driven by an S. NORAD took over Santa tracking duties in 1958. military forces were guarding the entourage “from those who do not believe in Christmas,” according to a story published in The Atlantic in 2015. Harry Shoup, the crew commander on duty, took the call and, after a member of his staff tacked a picture of Santa on a board used to track unidentified aircraft, decided the mistake would be great for public relations.ĬONAD’s public affairs officer announced to the press that not only was the organization tracking Santa’s sleigh, but U.S. Instead of ringing Santa Claus, a young person called the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). Nick “any time day or night,” or to visit him in person at their local Sears’ toyland.Īccording to legend, Santa’s number was misprinted. The ad included a cartoon Santa Claus and a phone number – ME 2-6681 – for his direct line. It all began with a Sears ad published in Colorado Springs’s The Gazette.

The report was a one-off, and the Air Force didn’t mention Santa sightings again.īut in 1955, Santa again was sighted on defense department radars. 24, 1948, the Air Force announced that a warning radar up north had detected “one unidentified sleigh, powered by eight reindeer” flying at approximately 14,000 feet.

NORAD has tracked Santa’s sleigh as it soars across the skies since 1955, but the mission was sparked nearly a decade earlier, when the Associated Press printed a special report from the U.S. Nicholas, Santa’s sleigh and holiday traditions, and NORAD’s headquarters provides information on the organization’s mission – including how NORAD protects Santa every Christmas Eve. The town’s library contains kids e-books about St. Enter The Arcade for a new, free holiday-themed game each day, or drop into The Theater for Santa and NORAD-related movies. The website welcomes visitors into a quaint, magical town in the North Pole, where Christmas music plays and elves enjoy their lunch breaks building snowmen and snorkeling. Until Santa Claus is cleared for take-off and NORAD’s tracker begins following the bearded gift-giver’s flight, kids of all ages are invited to visit for a variety of digital activities that entertain and inform. Nick’s whereabouts as he circles the globe Dec. airspace from Colorado every day, fired up the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) Santa Tracker, which will provide real-time updates on Jolly Old St. 1, employees at the Peterson Space Force Base, who monitor and defend U.S.

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