US-Canada Military Center 'tracks' Santa For 68th Year
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published December 25, 2023 | 09:50 AM
Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Dec, 2023) The joint US-Canadian military monitoring agency has continued its decades-long Christmas tradition of tracking Santa's whereabouts, helping children around the globe find out when his reindeer-powered, present-filled sleigh is coming to town.
A 3-D, interactive website at www.noradsanta.org showed Santa Claus and his reindeer on their imagined worldwide delivery route, allowing users to click and learn more about the various cities along the way.
The Santa tracker presented by the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) dates to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement printed a phone number to connect children with Santa but mistakenly directed them to the hotline for the military nerve center.
To avoid disappointing the little ones, NORAD's director of operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to check the radar to see where Old Saint Nick might be and update the children on his location.
Sixty-eight years later NORAD is continuing the tradition of setting up a temporary call center out of its Colorado headquarters to answer children's burning questions.
A photo posted by the group on Facebook showed rows of people answering phones, some in uniform and others wearing red Santa caps.
Some top-level US dignitaries -- namely President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden -- joined in on the holiday action.
"This evening, the President and First Lady participated in the North American Aerospace Defense Command Santa tracking calls with children and families across the country," the White House said in a statement.
Earlier Sunday the tracker went down for a short while, leaving children in the Pacific region in the dark about his exact position.
"Hey #SantaTrackers! We may be having a couple of technical difficulties with our tracking map, but #Santa is still flying! He is headed to Fiji next!" the group which runs the tracker said on their Facebook page, before announcing a fix one hour later.
Father Christmas had begun his journey with an out-of-this-world first stop, according to NORAD: the International Space Station orbiting Earth.
The reindeer-pulled sleigh was also seen traversing Israel as well as crossing over southern Gaza, criss-crossing Africa, and venturing southward to Palmer Station, a research facility in Antarctica.
Santa then headed up through South America, bound for the United States, unloading approximately 100,000 gifts every second for about 4.9 billion total presents as of 0130 GMT Monday, according to the tracker.
When not spreading holiday cheer, NORAD conducts aerospace and maritime control and warning operations -- including monitoring for missile launches from North Korea, something that may be on Santa's mind this year as he passes over, with the most recent ICBM test just days ago.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Dubai Mum Becomes the First Ever Pakistani Woman to Climb 11 of the 14 Highest M ..
Over 37% Tobacco tax increase suggested to save lives, boost revenue
Mohsin Naqvi has offered a substantial incentive, pledging $100,000 to every pla ..
Citizens join Al Barsha Police in “An Hour for Dubai” Initiative
Art can be a powerful tool to relieve stress, Experts say at Sharjah Children’ ..
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 5 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 05 May 2024
Bugti assures transporters for addressing their problems
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar meets foreign min ..
3 drug peddlers arrested, hashish recovered
1496,990 children given polio drops in five days: DC
Six terrorists killed, hideout busted in N Waziristan IBO: ISPR
More Stories From World
-
Football: Italian Serie A table
2 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP Madrid Open result
3 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A results - collated
3 hours ago -
Bodies in Mexico presumed to be missing surfers have bullet wounds to head
3 hours ago -
Rublev battles past Auger-Aliassime to claim Madrid Open title
3 hours ago -
Cesar Luis Menotti, football romantic who led Argentina to first World Cup
3 hours ago
-
Football: German Bundesliga table
3 hours ago -
Former Argentina World Cup winning coach Menotti dead at 85 - federation
3 hours ago -
Leverkusen extend unbeaten run to 48 games with win at Frankfurt
3 hours ago -
Rejuvenated Liverpool dent Tottenham's Champions League dreams
3 hours ago -
Furious Moyes blasts West Ham flops after Chelsea run riot
3 hours ago -
Teenager turns self in after attack on German politician
3 hours ago