Inception of NORAD Tracks Santa

Date: December 24, 1955 • Location: Washington, United States

According to legend, the NORAD Tracks Santa program began after children began calling the Continental Air Defense Command Center to inquire about Santa Claus's whereabouts due to a misprinted phone number in an advertisement.

NORAD Tracks Santa, also called NORAD Santa Tracker, is an annual program in which the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and travels around the world on his mission to deliver presents to children on Christmas Eve. The program starts on December 1, but the actual Santa-tracking starts at midnight annually on December 24. It is a community outreach function of NORAD, and has been held annually since 1955. Although NORAD claims to use radar and other technologies to track Santa, the website merely simulates the tracking of Santa.