PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (Dec. 3, 2015) -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of tracking Santa's yuletide journey.
The NORAD TracksSanta website, launching Dec. 1, features Santa's North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, activities, and more. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.
Official NORAD Tracks Santa apps are also available in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores, so parents and children can count down the days until Santa's launch on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking opportunities are also offered on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. Santa followers just need to type "@noradsanta" into each search engine to get started.
Also new this year, the website features the NORAD Headquarters in the North Pole Village, and highlights of the program throughout the past 60 years.
Starting at 12:01 a.m. MST (2:01 a.m. EST) Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight. NORAD's "Santa Cams" will stream videos on the website as Santa makes his way over various locations. Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa's whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.
Windows Phone users can ask Cortana for Santa's location at anytime Dec. 24, and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa.
NORAD Tracks Santa is truly a global experience, delighting generations of Families everywhere. This is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous program contributors.
Efforts began in 1955 when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct - only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. Thus began the tradition, which NORAD carried on since it was created in 1958.
Social Sharing