“Throughout the year, NORAD has the important mission of protecting North America from airborne and seaborne threats. But, every year on December 24, NORAD’s priority mission is to watch for Santa as he leaves his home in the North Pole to deliver presents to children around the world, and to deploy fighter jets to safely escort him as he spreads Christmas joy across North America.
“NORAD has been tracking Santa since it formed in 1958 and today, NORAD’s Santa Tracker volunteers handle more than 12,000 e-mails and 70,000 telephone calls from more than two hundred countries and territories every Christmas Eve.
“Remember to visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website at http://www.noradsanta.org/, for a North Pole village, daily games and activities, a holiday countdown, videos, music and more. Santa Trackers can also download the mobile app for Android, Windows, and iPhones, or follow the activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.
“Starting at 2 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 24, children of all ages will be able to track Santa’s whereabouts with real-time updates from the NORAD Tracks Santa website, the mobile app or social media, or by calling the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center at 1-877-Hi-NORAD (446-6723). I encourage children to follow Santa's journey, and make sure they are asleep before he arrives in their province.
“I would like to extend my thanks to our NORAD team in Colorado Springs and at the Canadian NORAD Region in Winnipeg, and to all the volunteers who bring delight to children each Christmas Eve as they help Santa on his trip across North America. Have a wonderful holiday season!”
