NORAD is Ready to Track Santa’s Flight for the 66th Year

This year you’ll find all the old standbys like the Gift Shop, Theater, Arcade, Music Stage, Library and of course – Norad’s headquarters for tracking Santa LIVE during his Christmas eve rounds.

Tracking Santa has been a tradition since 1955 when a local Sears and Roebuck newspaper advertisement informed children they could call Santa directly – only the contact number was m

isprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty, U.S. Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, the predecessor to NORAD.

Col. Shoup was quick to realize a mistake had been made, and assured the child that he was Santa. Shoup then assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls. Thus, a holiday tradition was born, which NORAD has carried on since it was created in 1958. Each year since, NORAD has reported Santa’s location on December 24 to millions of children and families around the world.

https://youtu.be/Y8eKH9VxeRY

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is celebrating the 66th Anniversary of tracking Santa’s yuletide journey around the globe! The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, launched December 1, features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, webstore, and more. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.

The official NORAD Tracks Santa app is also in the Apple App and Google Play stores, so parents and children can count down the days until Santa’s launch on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking opportunities are also offered through social media on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, as well as on partner platforms Bing, Amazon Alexa and OnStar.

Starting at 4 a.m. EST on December 24, website visitors can see updates as Santa makes preparations for his flight. Then, at 6 a.m. EST, trackers worldwide can call to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) where they will either speak with a live phone operator or hear a recorded update.

Due to COVID concerns, the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center will have fewer phone operators, so callers who do not reach a volunteer will hear a regularly updated recording as to Santa’s current location. Anytime on December 24, Amazon Alexa users can ask for Santa’s location through the NORAD Tracks Santa skill for Amazon Alexa, and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa. Santa Trackers can also use the Bing search engine to learn of Santa’s location.

NORAD’s Mission “We have the watch.”
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a United States and Canada bi-national organization which defends the homeland through aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. Aerospace warning includes the monitoring of man-made objects in space, and the detection, validation, and warning of attack against North America whether by aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, through mutual support arrangements with other commands.

Aerospace control includes ensuring air sovereignty and air defense of the airspace of Canada and the United States. The renewal of the NORAD Agreement in May 2006 added a maritime warning mission, which entails a shared awareness and understanding of the activities conducted in U.S. and Canadian maritime approaches, maritime areas and internal waterways.

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, NORAD’s mission has evolved over the years to meet the changing threat. Through outstanding bi-national cooperation, NORAD has proven itself effective in its roles of watching, warning, and responding. The events of September 11, 2001 demonstrated NORAD’s continued relevance to North American security. Today, NORAD provides civil authorities with a potent military response capability to counter domestic airspace threats should all other methods fail.

The men and women of NORAD are constantly watching the skies and waterways of the United States and Canada to keep us safe.
https://www.noradsanta.org/en/

Can’t get enough of Santa games, information and real time tracking. Here’s a link to Google’s Santa Tracking website.

Never Miss a North Pole Minute
Use the Google Assistant to find out more about Santa Claus during December! This integration is available in select languages.

With their parent’s permission, children under 13 can also have their own personalized Google Assistant experience when they log in with their own account, managed with Family Link.

North Pole Newscast
Tune in daily to the North Pole Newscast to find out what Santa and his elves are up to. Just ask the Google Assistant what’s new at the North Pole.
https://santatracker.google.com/

All the elves at ACTSmart IT wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season!