NORAD ready to track Santa Claus
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has set up its website to help children track Santa Claus as he prepares for his round-the-world flight later this month. According to the Department of Defense:
The [NORAD Santa website] features a holiday countdown, games and daily activities, video messages from students around the world and more, officials said, and it is available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.
For those super high-tech youngsters, there are smart phone apps available for Santa-tracking via NORAD. You can find those apps at the Apple Store, the Windows Store, and Google Play.
NORAD has been tracking Santa Claus since the 1950s:
It all started in 1955, when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct – but the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. NORAD has carried the tradition on since the command was created in 1958.
Children can still call NORAD to check in on Santa's whereabouts, starting 4 a.m. Mountain Time on Christmas Eve. The toll-free number is 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). Thanks, NORAD!
