How NORAD began tracking Santa

By The Gazette December 22, 2022 | updated 4 years ago

NORAD has been tracking Santa Claus since 1955. Do you know how the tradition started? A mistake. That year, on Christmas Eve, an advertisement from Sears, published in The Gazette, offered children the chance to call Santa — but listed the wrong number. Instead of calling Santa, kids reached Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command (a precursor to NORAD).

NORAD has been tracking Santa Claus since 1955. Do you know how the decades-old tradition started?

A mistake.

That year, on Christmas Eve, an advertisement from Sears, published in The Gazette, offered children the chance to call Santa — but listed the wrong number. Instead of calling Santa, kids reached Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command (a precursor to NORAD).

That day, a few Air Force officers answered calls from curious children and the fateful mistake evolved into a longtime tradition— and a complex operation.

NORAD has been tracking Santa Claus since 1955. Do you know how the tradition started? A mistake. That year, on Christmas Eve, an advertisement from Sears, published in The Gazette, offered children the chance to call Santa — but listed the wrong number. Instead of calling Santa, kids reached Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command (a precursor to NORAD).

NORAD’s current Santa tracking operation includes hundreds of volunteers, thousands of calls from around the globe and a tracker that incorporates advanced mapping and satellite-positioning technology.

Here are all the ways to track Kris Kringle and his reindeer:

Online at www.noradsanta.org
By phone: Call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723).
On Facebook
On Instagram: Follow @noradtrackssanta_official
On your smart home devices, including Amazon Echo.
Apps on iTunes and GooglePlay

Google has its own Santa tracker as well. You can check that out here.

On Christmas Eve 1955, an advertisement from Sears, published in The Gazette, offered children the chance to call Santa — but listed the wrong number. Instead of calling Santa, kids reached Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command (a precursor to NORAD). (Courtesy of Air Force / NORAD files)

More than 1,482 volunteers answered calls from children all over the world to help them track Santa Claus at the NORAD Santa tracking call center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Christmas Eve Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019.(Chancey Bush/ The Gazette) (Chancey Bush)

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