Norad Santa Tracker live: Follow Santa Claus and his reindeer around the globe

There is only an hour left until Santa Claus takes to the skies and begins his journey around the world.

Norad has begun the hour-long countdown where Santa’s elves can be seen busily making last-minute preparations, accompanied by Christmas music focused on Santa Claus.

There’s nothing more exciting on Christmas Eve than seeing exactly where Santa Claus and his reindeer are on their nightly journey as he delivers presents around the globe.

For decades, children have been able to track down the location of the man in red by reporting to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD.

The tradition began in 1955 when a child accidentally called a military commando in Colorado and asked to speak to Santa Claus after a department store ad with a misprinted phone number ran in a local newspaper.

my colleague Brittany Miller explains how to follow Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve:

Santa Claus braved the humid heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend and took two boats to deliver presents to the children of a small village near the Brazilian city of Manaus.

The visit was organized by Amigos do Papai Noel, a Brazilian charity that has been bringing gifts to children in the Amazon rainforest for 26 years.

“Nothing new is happening for the children of the rivers, the people of the countryside,” said Raimunda Ferrera Vieira, community leader in the village of Catalao, which received Santa Claus on Saturday. “This for us was a gift from God.”

More than 600 children from different villages gathered in Catalao to receive gifts from Santa Claus, who wore his traditional nightcap, white gloves and a red suit as he braved the sweltering jungle heat.

The tradition began in 1955 when a child accidentally called a military commando in Colorado and asked to speak to Santa Claus – after a department store ad that contained a misprinted phone number ran in a local newspaper.

Air Force Commander Harry Shoup, who was manning the phones on Christmas Eve, quickly realized the mistake and assured the child that it was indeed Santa Claus.

As more calls came in that night, Commander Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls. This created a tradition that was passed on to Norad when it was founded in 1958.

Every year since then, the agency – which defends and monitors the skies over North America – has answered questions from children about the red-and-white-clad smokestack invader and his unprecedented delivery schedule.

According to Norad, the “only logical conclusion” as to how Santa Claus can circumnavigate the globe in one night is that he “somehow functions within his own time-space continuum.”

“NORAD intelligence reports indicate that Santa Claus does not experience time the same way we do. To us, his journey seems to take 24 hours, but for Santa Claus it can take days, weeks or even months,” the agency explained.

Santa Claus usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west.

So historically, Santa Claus visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. He then shoots to Japan, on to Asia, across to Africa, then to Western Europe, Canada, the USA, Mexico and Central and South America.

“Remember that Santa’s route can be affected by the weather and is therefore truly unpredictable,” explains Norad on his website.

“NORAD tracks Santa Claus, but only Santa Claus knows his route,” says the military organization’s website, “which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your home.” We know from history However, he only seems to arrive when the children are asleep! In most countries, Santa Claus appears to arrive between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24th. If the children are still awake when Santa Claus arrives, he moves on to other houses. He’ll come back later, but only when the kids are asleep!”

The military’s tradition of tracking Santa Claus on his gravity-defying flight around the globe will continue this Christmas Eve even as the U.S. government shuts down, officials said Friday.

“We expect Santa to fly on December 24 and NORAD will track him,” the US-Canadian agency said in a statement.

On any other night, NORAD scans the skies for potential threats, like last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ask themselves questions like, “When is Santa Claus coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”

The endeavor is supported by local and corporate sponsors who also help protect the tradition from dysfunction in Washington.