COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The North American โAerospace Defense Command (NORAD) officially launched its annual Santa tracking program Monday,offeringโ a festive way for families around the globe toโ follow Santa Claus’s Christmas Eve travels for the 70th consecutive year.
For seven decades, NORAD’s Santaโฃ tracking has become a beloved holiday tradition, originating in 1955 following a misprinted advertisementโฃ encouraging children to call the Continental Air Defenseโ Command (CONAD) – NORAD’s predecessor – to speak with Santa. What beganโ as an accidental โฃpublicโ service has evolved into a refined,multilingual operation that blends NORAD’s core mission of aerospace defense with holiday cheer. The program provides a unique opportunity to โengage with theโ public and demonstrate the command’sโ technological capabilities in a โlighthearted way.
NORAD’s Santa tracking website, www.noradsanta.org, is now live, featuring “Santa’s North Pole Village” with aโ holiday countdown, games, aโฃ movie theater, and music. The site is accessible in nine languages – English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, โportuguese, Chinese, and Korean.
On December 24th, children and families can call 1-877-HI-NORAD betweenโ 4 a.m. and midnight MST to speak with live operators about Santa’s location. A new web-based calling option โคis also available directly through โขthe website for those without phone access. Virtual translation services will support over 200 languages through the call center. Even after live operators conclude at midnight MST, tracking will continue via NORAD’s Interactiveโค Voice Response system and the website โuntil 3 a.m. on December 25th.
The NORAD Tracks Santa program is also available on the official mobile app (Apple and Google โขPlayโค stores), as well as on social media platformsโ including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, โand X. Updates will also be provided โthrough โฃAmazon Alexa, SiriusXM, and OnStar.