Santa Claus and his reindeer are rocketing around the globe, with billions of stops to make in less than 24 hours.
Father Christmas has already soared past locations around the world, from Nunavut, northern Canada, to southern Chile, with multiple trips through the Caribbean.
Every Christmas Eve, Norad – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – provides real-time tracking of Santa’s sleigh as it navigates the skies.
The cherished tradition dates back to 1955 when a misprint in a department store advert led a young child to call a Colorado military command center asking to speak to Santa Claus.
Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, who picked up the call that night, played along and assured the child he was Santa. As more calls poured in, he assigned an officer to handle the queries, starting a festive custom that Norad continued after its creation in 1958.
For decades, Norad has swapped its usual airspace monitoring duties to answer children’s questions about Santa’s journey and his astonishing present-delivery operation. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the organisation to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online – in nine languages – as St Nick swoops along the earth’s meridians.
Stay tuned for updates as we follow Santa’s magical route across the world.
Santa is back in the Caribbean
After some passes through Greenland and Canada, Santa is back in warmer climes.
His sleigh just passed Puerto Rico.
He’s delivered 5,442,632,150 so far.
Personally, I’m hoping for some new pairs of socks. A cliché gift perhaps, but you can’t have too many.
Josh Marcus25 December 2024 02:29
Santa’s sleigh nears the North Pole
Santa is passing above Greenland around the globe.
Perhaps St. Nick can settle the ongoing diplomatic tension caused by Donald Trump claiming he wants to take over the territory.
Josh Marcus25 December 2024 01:53
Santa soars above the Caribbean
That Santa Claus sure moves fast.
The red rocket has been spotted above the island nation of Sint Maarten.
The Independent last covered Sint Maarten on news of this dramatic ocean rescue.
Josh Marcus25 December 2024 01:35
‘He’s one of the best aviators we’ve ever seen’
U.S. military personnel may have access to high-tech jets and drones, but they’ve still got respect for the good ol’ sleigh.
“We know Santa has been doing this for over 2,000 years. He is one of the best aviators we have ever seen. … In his 2,000 years plus, he has never had an accident,” 2nd Lt. Tyler Turnmire, with the 601 Air Operations Center at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, told news station WSAW.
According to NORAD, Mr. Claus is currently above the Chile-Argentina border.
Josh Marcus25 December 2024 00:53
Santa nears the Faroe Islands
Maybe Santa is looking for some R&R on his round-the-world journey, because NORAD is showing Santa’s sleigh nearing the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago nation within the Kingdom of Denmark.
The islands have become a haven for travelers in recent years, described as one of Europe’s best kept secrets.
Don’t rest too long, St. Nick, there are still so many presents to be delivered!
Josh Marcus24 December 2024 23:55
Santa en route to Liberia
Santa Claus is en route to Monrovia, Liberia, where he is set to deliver sackfuls of presents to the West African country’s 5.5million population.
Liberia was founded in 1822 as an outpost for freed American slaves returning to Africa from bondage in the Americas. It eventually became a commonwealth, and achieved independence in 1847.
The capital, Monrovia, is named after the fifth US president James Monroe, who supported the territory’s colonisation and helped fund its establishment.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 23:25
Santa en route to Barcelona, Spain
Santa Claus is now en route to Barcelona, Spain. The Catalan capital is home to just under two million people – a lot of chimneys for Father Christmas to climb down.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 22:42
Santa visits Sarajevo
Santa Claus just dropped off sackfuls of presents to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, in time for Christmas Day morning.
Sarajevo has a population of just under 300,000 and is surrounded by the majestic Dinaric Alps once used by the Bosnian Serbs to besiege the city during the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 21:41
Next stop Angola
Santa Claus is now en route to Luanda, the capital of Angola. It is a port city on the west coast of Southern Africa, home to around 9million people.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 20:50
Father Christmas brings presents to South Africa
Father Christmas has made it all the way to South Africa to deliver his presents after setting off from the North Pole earlier today.
He arrived on his sleigh in Johannesburg just now, a vibrant city of just six million. He is now en route to Cape Town to drop off more presents made by his crafty hard-working elves.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 20:42
