Tracking Santa’s Travels (or, the Backstory of NORAD's Santa Tracker)
It all started with a typo . . .
Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa’s Christmas flight. But, how did they become involved? What's the Backstory?
Well, the Santa Tracker project began in 1955 . . . by accident. And all because of a typo.
In 1955, a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement placed in a Colorado Springs newspaper read “Hey, Kiddies! Call me direct ...” and the ad listed a phone number to call Santa. However, the number shown in the ad was incorrect. Oops! Instead of reaching the intended Santa hotline, the call routed to the on-duty Crew Commander at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center (CONAD). Big Oops!
As the story is told, in December 1955, Col. Harry Shoup, who worked at CONAD in Colorado, received an unexpected call. You see, CONAD had confidential phone numbers, so the call Col. Shoup received was completely unexpected. While the voice on the other end of the line should have been from a senior military official with access to that private phone number, it instead belonged to a young child, asking if he was Santa Claus. Shoup reportedly responded, “Can you repeat that please?”
In the spirit of Christmas, Shoup played along as Santa Claus. He then alerted his staff of the call and directed them to “report” Santa’s location to any child who called CONAD to speak to Santa. A while later, the typo in the Sears newspaper ad was discovered. The ad was meant to provide children with an opportunity to not only visit Santa at the shopping center, but to phone him. Considering the typo in the advertisement and the Christmas season, the CONAD staff embraced the onslaught of calls to Santa from children sharing their Christmas wish list. And CONAD’s military technology (wink, wink) was the perfect way to track and protect Santa Claus on his Christmas journey.
To help mitigate the typo, CONAD’s public relations officer prepared a press release announcing CONAD’s Santa tracking initiative -- “CONAD, Army, Navy and Marine Air Forces will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S. against possible attack from those who do not believe in Christmas.” Remember that during this period in history and when this press release was sent out, the language used was a veiled reference to the Soviet Union and the Cold War. But it also served to boost public morale when Cold War tensions were elevated, and many people were worried about the possibility of a Soviet attack.
When CONAD transitioned to NORAD in 1958, the tradition of tracking Santa’s sleigh ride continued. The NORAD Tracks Santa program continues to delight generations of families throughout the world. Children are still encouraged to check in on Santa’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve. Today, hundreds of military service members answer calls to Santa, and millions of children follow Santa’s journey online, bringing the spirit of Santa alive to youngsters across the world.
NORAD maintains a NORAD Tracks Santa website each year, launching unique features for the holiday season on Dec. 1. The site typically includes Santa’s North Pole Village with a holiday countdown, activities, games and more. The site is available in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese. It can be found at www.noradsanta.org. There are also official NORAD Tracks Santa apps available in the Apple and Google Play stores, providing access to the site’s features on smart phones and tablets. And tracking is also available on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Currently, Santa and his Elves are on vacation, and the NORAD Tracks Santa site says to “Come back on Dec. 1.” But, if the past continues to hold true for Christmas this year, beginning at 2:01 AM (EST) on December 24, visitors to the Santa Tracker website can watch Santa as he prepares for his flight. "Santa Cams" typically stream videos on the website as Santa begins his journey. Then, at 6:00 AM (EST), children worldwide tracking Santa can speak with a live phone operator to ask about Santa’s whereabouts. Alternatively, they can send an email to NORAD’s Santa Tracker. And, on Christmas Eve, users can even ask Alexa (and similar) for Santa’s location.
So, while Santa may know when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, and he knows when you’ve been naughty or nice. Will you be watching as he journeys to visit you on Christmas night?
It all started with a typo . . .
Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa’s Christmas flight. But, how did they become involved? What's the Backstory?
Well, the Santa Tracker project began in 1955 . . . by accident. And all because of a typo.
In 1955, a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement placed in a Colorado Springs newspaper read “Hey, Kiddies! Call me direct ...” and the ad listed a phone number to call Santa. However, the number shown in the ad was incorrect. Oops! Instead of reaching the intended Santa hotline, the call routed to the on-duty Crew Commander at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center (CONAD). Big Oops!
As the story is told, in December 1955, Col. Harry Shoup, who worked at CONAD in Colorado, received an unexpected call. You see, CONAD had confidential phone numbers, so the call Col. Shoup received was completely unexpected. While the voice on the other end of the line should have been from a senior military official with access to that private phone number, it instead belonged to a young child, asking if he was Santa Claus. Shoup reportedly responded, “Can you repeat that please?”
In the spirit of Christmas, Shoup played along as Santa Claus. He then alerted his staff of the call and directed them to “report” Santa’s location to any child who called CONAD to speak to Santa. A while later, the typo in the Sears newspaper ad was discovered. The ad was meant to provide children with an opportunity to not only visit Santa at the shopping center, but to phone him. Considering the typo in the advertisement and the Christmas season, the CONAD staff embraced the onslaught of calls to Santa from children sharing their Christmas wish list. And CONAD’s military technology (wink, wink) was the perfect way to track and protect Santa Claus on his Christmas journey.
To help mitigate the typo, CONAD’s public relations officer prepared a press release announcing CONAD’s Santa tracking initiative -- “CONAD, Army, Navy and Marine Air Forces will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S. against possible attack from those who do not believe in Christmas.” Remember that during this period in history and when this press release was sent out, the language used was a veiled reference to the Soviet Union and the Cold War. But it also served to boost public morale when Cold War tensions were elevated, and many people were worried about the possibility of a Soviet attack.
When CONAD transitioned to NORAD in 1958, the tradition of tracking Santa’s sleigh ride continued. The NORAD Tracks Santa program continues to delight generations of families throughout the world. Children are still encouraged to check in on Santa’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve. Today, hundreds of military service members answer calls to Santa, and millions of children follow Santa’s journey online, bringing the spirit of Santa alive to youngsters across the world.
NORAD maintains a NORAD Tracks Santa website each year, launching unique features for the holiday season on Dec. 1. The site typically includes Santa’s North Pole Village with a holiday countdown, activities, games and more. The site is available in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese. It can be found at www.noradsanta.org. There are also official NORAD Tracks Santa apps available in the Apple and Google Play stores, providing access to the site’s features on smart phones and tablets. And tracking is also available on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Currently, Santa and his Elves are on vacation, and the NORAD Tracks Santa site says to “Come back on Dec. 1.” But, if the past continues to hold true for Christmas this year, beginning at 2:01 AM (EST) on December 24, visitors to the Santa Tracker website can watch Santa as he prepares for his flight. "Santa Cams" typically stream videos on the website as Santa begins his journey. Then, at 6:00 AM (EST), children worldwide tracking Santa can speak with a live phone operator to ask about Santa’s whereabouts. Alternatively, they can send an email to NORAD’s Santa Tracker. And, on Christmas Eve, users can even ask Alexa (and similar) for Santa’s location.
So, while Santa may know when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, and he knows when you’ve been naughty or nice. Will you be watching as he journeys to visit you on Christmas night?
Last edited:
