Where’s Santa? The true story behind NORAD’S 70-year tracking tradition

Millions now get updates on Santa’s journey around the world

The magic of Christmas Eve often brings a unique question for children and adults alike: Where is Santa?

For 70 years, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has provided the answer, transforming its Cold War-era mission of monitoring skies for threats into a beloved tradition of tracking St Nick's global journey.

Millions now check up on the jolly figure said to deliver presents around the world.

This Christmas Eve, over 1,000 dedicated volunteers will staff the 1-877-HI-NORAD hotline from 4am to midnight Mountain Standard Time, ready to field calls from eager Santa-seekers.

Some children, upon hearing Santa won't show up if they're not asleep, might drop the phone, while others simply wonder if St Nick will find them.

For the first time, those outside North America can also place calls via the programme's website, offering Santa's real-time journey in nine languages, including English and Japanese.

Volunteers take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their house, during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation (Thomas Paul/North American Aerospace Defense Command. via AP))

In 2024, about 380,000 calls flooded into a Christmas-decorated hangar at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, NORAD's home.

While Santa poses no threat, the same sophisticated combination of radar, satellites, and jets enabling NORAD's year-round mission are deployed to track his progress.

Colonel Kelly Frushour, a NORAD spokesperson, explained that tracking begins precisely at the international date line over the Pacific Ocean.

She added that Rudolph's distinctive, glowing nose emits a heat signature akin to a missile, which NORAD's advanced satellites readily pick up.

The hotline often yields heartwarming and amusing interactions. Colonel Frushour recounted a memorable call last year from a young girl concerned that Santa was heading directly to the International Space Station, where two astronauts were reportedly stranded.

Volunteers take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their house, during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation (Thomas Paul/North American Aerospace Defense Command via AP)

"Thankfully, by the time the call was over, Santa Claus had moved on to another destination and the child was reassured that Santa was not trapped in space and was going to make it to her house later that evening," Frushour said.

Michelle Martin, a NORAD staffer and Marine veteran, shared another touching story involving Henry, a man with special needs who faithfully calls every year. He once earnestly asked if the jet pilot escorting Santa through North America could leave a note for St. Nick, confirming Henry was safely in bed.

Martin explained that Santa travels "faster than starlight."

She recalled telling him, "I don’t know that our pilot can catch up with him fast enough. He just waves and he goes."

This cherished tradition began by a delightful, yet accidental, mistake in 1955. NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), was then on high alert for any sign of a possible nuclear attack from the then-Soviet Union.

A patch representing the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation is seen on a military uniform sleeve at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert))

A child mistakenly dialled the combat operations centre, asking directly to speak to Santa Claus. The commander on duty, Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, unwilling to disappoint, immediately instructed his staffers to begin tracking Santa and to take calls from other children.

The initial phone call is widely believed to have stemmed from either a misprint or a misdial of a number included in a Sears advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper, which had encouraged children to call Santa.

The legend developed into the first call coming into a dedicated hotline that connected the command with a general in case of an attack. However, The Atlantic magazine in 2015 cast doubt on the notion of a "flood of calls" to a secret line, suggesting a public phone line was more probable and noting Colonel Shoup's well-known flair for public relations.

In a 1999 interview with The Associated Press, Shoup vividly recalled his reaction upon realising what was happening, telling the first caller, "Ho, ho, ho, I am Santa." He added: "The crew was looking at me like I had lost it."

Designer Michelle Reid prepares holiday decorations inside a hangar at Peterson Space Force Base (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

He then quickly instructed his staff on what was happening and told them to play along, too.

While the exact date of that pivotal first call remains unclear, by 23 December of that very first year, The Associated Press reported that CONAD was indeed tracking Santa's progress.

CONAD soon evolved into the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which once operated inside the nearby Cheyenne Mountain complex.

This formidable network of tunnels had been blasted out of the mountain's hard granite, specifically designed so NORAD officers could survive a nuclear attack, a stark contrast to its current festive role.

From a Cold War-era misdial to a global festive phenomenon, NORAD's Santa tracking service continues to bring immense joy and enduring magic to millions worldwide, proving that even the most serious of organizations can wholeheartedly embrace the spirit of Christmas.