Norad Santa Tracker

Latest Updates Norad Santa Tracker:-We love a bit of tradition here at Pocket-lint – Holly, Ivy, snow, presents… the list goes on. Another tradition, in this case an online one, is the NORAD Santa tracker, which has been locating the whereabouts of the fat man on Christmas Eve since 1955.

Norad Santa tracker tradition stays alive with the help of Google -The tradition started as the result of a Colorado Springs, CO based Sears placing an advertisement in the local newspaper that included a phone number that kids could call to talk to Santa.

However, the number in the printed ad was incorrect.   The calls meant for Santa ended up going to CONAD (the Continental Air Defense Command), the forerunner of NORAD. On the night a December 24, 1955 the officer on duty that night, Colonel Harry Shoup, instructed his personnel to give all children who called in that night a current location for Santa Claus, and a tradition was born.