While public concerns have lingered over the Northeast due to potential drone sightings, one sighting will soon spread holiday cheer across the country: Santa Claus.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command is once again ready to pursue Santa and his reindeer around the globe.
NORAD, which protects the skies over the United States and Canada, starts its Santa tracking system at 6 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve. Santa watchers can track his progress on NORAD’s website or phone the command center at 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to take part in the annual Christmas ritual.
The tracking service is also available via the NORAD Tracks Santa app, social media, Amazon Alexa, OnStar, and SiriusXM, according to NORAD.
This is the 69th year that NORAD has followed Santa’s holiday voyage around the world. According to NORAD’s website, it began by mistake in 1955, when a local newspaper advertisement promised youngsters that they could call Santa directly; however, the contact number was misprinted. Instead of contacting Santa Claus, a child called the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
According to the website, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, who answered the child’s call, realized the mistake quickly and convinced the boy that he was Santa. Following additional calls, Shoup assigned one officer to answer them, “and a tradition was born.” When NORAD was established in 1958, the tradition continued.
According to NORAD, the Santa tracker site receives millions of visitors from all over the world each year, with volunteers answering over 130,000 calls.