Norad Santa tracker live: Follow Santa Claus and his reindeer around the globe

The tradition began in 1955, when a child mistakenly rang a Colorado military command asking to speak to Father Christmas – after a local newspaper ran an advert by a department store containing a misprinted phone number.

Air Force Commander Harry Shoup, who was manning the phones that Christmas Eve, quickly realised the mistake and assured the child that he was in fact Santa Claus.

As more calls came in that night, Commander Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering the phone, birthing a tradition that passed over to Norad when it was formed in 1958.

Every year since, the agency — which defends and monitors the skies over North America — has fielded children’s questions about the red-and-white-clad chimney intruder and his unrivaled delivery schedule.

According to Norad, the “only logical conclusion” as to how Santa is able to traverse the globe in one night is that he “somehow functions within his own time-space continuum.”

“NORAD intelligence reports indicate that Santa does not experience time the way we do. His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa, it might last days, weeks, or even months,” the agency stated.

Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west.

So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.

“Keep in mind, Santa’s route can be affected by weather, so it’s really unpredictable,” Norad states on its website.

“NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route,” the military organization’s website states, “which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house. We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep! In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24th. If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later, but only when the children are asleep!”

The military’s tradition of tracking Santa Claus on his gravity-defying sweep across the globe will carry on this Christmas Eve, even if the U.S. government shuts down, officials said Friday.

“We fully expect for Santa to take flight on Dec. 24 and NORAD will track him,” the U.S.-Canadian agency said in a statement.

On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats, such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”

The endeavor is supported by local and corporate sponsors, who also help shield the tradition from Washington dysfunction.

NORAD has an online tracker for children to watch Santa travel across the world in real-time. This year’s website launched on December 1, and it currently shows a village in the North Pole and a countdown to Christmas Eve.

The website will display Santa’s location from 4 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve to 2 a.m. on Christmas Day.

Families can also download NORAD’s Santa Tracker app on both the Apple app store and Google Play store. Those who are interested in calling NORAD can use the phone number 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on December 24 from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Christmas Day ET.

Google will also have its own version of a Santa tracker that will go live on December 24. Similar to NORAD’s tracker, Google has a countdown timer to Christmas Eve and various games available to play before Santa’s map goes live.

Hello and Happy Christmas! Santa Claus is finally coming to town and we’re ready to watch his journey live as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) once again tracks him on his way around the globe.

It’s T-minus 10 hours until he sets off, so get ready, put some Christmas tunes on and prepare for his departure with us.