Santa Claus is officially on his way this Christmas 2024, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has begun its annual tradition of tracking his journey. Every year, children all around the world can follow real-time updates about Santa’s progress as he delivers gifts to homes across the globe. This fun tradition started back in 1955 with an accidental phone call.
A child mistakenly dialed a misprinted phone number from a local department store’s ad, hoping to speak to Santa Claus. The call went to a Colorado military command, where Air Force Commander Harry Shoup answered. Realizing the mistake, he reassured the child, claiming he was indeed Santa. As more children called, Commander Shoup assigned an officer to answer the phones, which eventually became the beginning of the Santa tracking program.
NORAD, which is responsible for monitoring and defending the skies, has taken over this annual task since its establishment in 1958. Every year, they answer children’s questions about Santa’s magical delivery journey.
Despite tracking Santa for decades, there has never been an accident. Santa has a perfect track record, and his sleigh is a marvel of magic and engineering. According to NORAD, his sleigh is 75 candy canes long, 40 candy canes wide, and 55 candy canes high. It weighs about 75,000 gumdrops when Santa starts his journey, but gains an extra 5,000 pounds by the end due to snow and ice.
The gifts Santa carries weigh an astonishing 60,000 tons. Santa himself weighs 260 pounds and gains 1,000 extra pounds over the course of the night, thanks to the cookies and milk (and sometimes a little brandy) offered by families around the world.
NORAD’s spokesperson describes Santa’s sleigh as a versatile, all-weather vehicle capable of traveling long distances without needing fuel, making it ideal for his Christmas Eve mission.
As Santa continues his journey, NORAD’s Santa tracker brings joy to people of all ages, celebrating the magic of Christmas.
