How to Track Santa’s Journey Around the World

For millions of Americans and people around the world, no Christmas Eve is complete without tracking the whereabouts of Old Saint Nick on his journey around the world. The North American Aerospace Defense Command — NORAD, for short — has been charged with covering the trip in realtime for decades. Described as an “annual Christmas-themed entertainment program”, NORAD Tracks Santa provides up-to-the-minute notices and “video” of Santa and his reindeer.

According to the program’s Wikipedia page, a 1955 misprint in a Sears catalog was the reason for the program’s conception. The catalog ad — which told children to call to talk to Santa Claus over the phone — instead rerouted to the Colorado Springs’ Continental Air Defense Command Center, and the overnight staff began telling children the whereabouts of the North Pole native. Today, the program is a massive internet go-to for eager families looking to track Santa in real time in the digital age.

People looking to find NORAD Tracks Santa can do so here, complete with video of the places on Earth that Santa has already visited on this Christmas Eve.

Santa Claus is coming to town! https://t.co/9upjznPbb5 #NORADSanta #NORADSantaTracker pic.twitter.com/WhhzaApk1u

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 24, 2015

Major General Charles Luckey of NORAD spoke with MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts this morning about the development of the program:

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