Follow Santa Claus and his reindeer around the globe

Every Christmas Eve, Norad – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – tracks Santa’s sleigh in real time as it navigates the skies.

The cherished tradition dates back to 1955, when a small misprint in a department store advertisement led to a small child calling a military command center in Colorado and asking to speak to Santa Claus.

Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, who answered the call that evening, played along and assured the child that he was Santa Claus. As more calls came in, he assigned an officer to handle the requests, starting a celebratory custom that Norad continued after its founding in 1958.

For decades, Norad has traded in his usual air traffic control duties to answer children’s questions about Santa’s journey and his amazing gift delivery.

Each year, at least 100,000 children call the organization to inquire about Santa’s whereabouts. Millions more watch Saint Nicholas float along the Earth’s meridians online – in nine languages.

Stay tuned for updates as we follow Santa’s magical route around the globe.

Important points

• Here’s how to follow Santa’s journey

• Is the Norad Santa tracker safe from a government shutdown?

Here’s how to follow Santa’s journey with Norad

23:01 , Tom Murray

NORAD has an online tracker that allows children to watch Santa Claus travel around the world in real time. This year’s website launched on December 1st and currently features a village at the North Pole and a countdown to Christmas Eve.

The website shows Santa’s location from 4:00 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve to 2:00 a.m. on Christmas Day.

Families can also download NORAD’s Santa Tracker app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Anyone wishing to call NORAD can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on December 24th from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Christmas Day ET.

Google will also have its own version of a Santa Claus tracker, which will go live on December 24th. Similar to NORAD’s tracker, Google has a countdown timer to Christmas Eve and various games that can be played before Santa’s card goes live.

Read more:

Where is Santa Claus? Here’s how you can follow his journey this Christmas Eve

Welcome to The Independent’s Santa Tracker live blog!

22:37 , Tom Murray

Hello and Merry Christmas! Santa Claus is finally coming to town and we’re ready to follow his journey live as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) tracks him once again as he makes his way around the globe.

There are still 10 hours until he leaves, so get ready, put on some Christmas songs and join us in preparing for his departure.