It’s that special time of the year again. I’ve enjoyed a long history writing and talking about this classic tradition, the NORAD Santa Tracking service.
NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been helping Santa make his rounds for 52 years. The site went live on December 1st for those who are ready to start searching for St. Nick. While you won’t actually get to track him until Christmas Eve, there are tons of resources, fun and games available on the site now. There’s a new video direct from NORAD this year introducing NORAD Santa located here: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/anorad.html
This year, NORAD teamed up with the Colorado Springs School District 11. Here’s a link to the contests winning video and dance from the students at Wasson High School along with some of the students stories. http://www.noradsanta.org/en/d11.html There’s also many student videos from around the world posted on teh site for you to view and enjoy: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/video_world.html
How does NORAD track Santa?
Santa Cams are ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras pre-positioned at many locations around the world only on Christmas Eve. The cameras capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they make their journey around the world.
All the preparations for this year are in place! Be sure visit each day to get important updates from the North Pole and to discover new surprises in the Kids’ Countdown Village. Santa’s elves have been busier than usual this year preparing for Christmas Eve. Visit Santa’s Village to see what’s been going on, and join in the fun!
Santa Snacks
Santa takes breaks during his Christmas Eve trip around the world – especially for snacks left for him by children. Do you put a snack out for Santa? Kids all over the world do. Some even leave carrots for Santa’s reindeer. (carrots are their favorite food.) Be sure to check back on Christmas Eve to see how many cookies Santa eats during his journey. No wonder he’s so jolly and round!
This year you can track Santa in many different ways. In addition to the website you can use Google Earth/iGoogle Gadget, Twitter and Facebook – get the links and info form the websites home page – http://www.noradsanta.org
So don’t miss out on the fun this year. Log in on Christmas Eve and watch as Santa makes his way around the world and more importantly – to your house!
Why Does NORAD Track Santa
Here’s the link explaining how this 52 year old tradition got started by Colonel Harry Shoup (Retired USAF) as well as a short audio of his recounting that fateful night and the first phone call into NORAD headquarters. http://www.noradsanta.org/en/whytrack.html
Want to know how NORAD accomplishes this tremendous task each year http://www.noradsanta.org/en/howtrack.html
How would you (or your child) like to talk to someone at NORAD to find out where Santa is located?
The NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center is fully operational beginning at 4:00 a.m. MST on December 24. You can call 1 877 HI-NORAD (1.877.446.6723) to talk directly to a NORAD staff member who will be able to tell you Santa’s exact location!
Perhaps you’d like to send an email to NORAD to find out where Santa is located?
On December 24, you can send an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com. A NORAD staff member will give you Santa’s last known location in a return email.
Merry Christmas from all of Santa’s Elves at ACTSmart!
