The big man has made his list and checked it twice, so you better head to bed and hope you were nice. Yes, Santa Claus is officially coming to town for Christmas 2024!
It is official; the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has kicked off its annual tradition of tracking Santa Claus as he embarks on his worldwide gift-giving journey.
This heartwarming tradition has been a beloved part of Christmas for decades, providing children around the world with real-time updates on Santa’s location as he visits homes across the globe.
The origins of this festive tradition date back to 1955 when a heartwarming mistake led to the birth of the Santa-tracking program.
It all began when a child inadvertently called a Colorado military command, hoping to speak to Father Christmas. The child had seen an advertisement in a local newspaper from a department store but had dialed a misprinted phone number. Air Force Commander Harry Shoup, who happened to be manning the phones that Christmas Eve, quickly understood the mix-up and assured the child that he was indeed Santa Claus.
As more calls from excited children poured in that night, Commander Shoup decided to assign a duty officer to continue answering the phone, kickstarting a heartwarming tradition that was later adopted by NORAD when it was established in 1958.
Each year, NORAD – which typically focuses on defending and monitoring the skies over North America – takes on the joyful task of fielding questions from children about the red-and-white-clad chimney intruder and his unparalleled gift delivery schedule.
Despite decades of tracking, Santa has never experienced a single crash during his magical journey. After all, he’s been performing this remarkable feat for centuries, and his experience is unparalleled.
For those interested in the technical details, NORAD provides specifications for Santa’s sleigh.
It measures 75 candy canes in length, 40 candy canes in width, and 55 candy canes in height. At the start of his delivery run, it weighs the equivalent of 75,000 gumdrops, but by the end of the night, it has gained an extra 5,000 pounds, likely due to ice and snow accumulated while traveling through the wintery night.
As for the gifts themselves, they weigh an astonishing 60,000 tons – a testament to the generosity of Santa’s mission and all the effort those elves put in beforehand.
The jolly old man himself has an official weight of 260 pounds, but by the time he returns home to Mrs. Claus, his weight has increased by 1,000 pounds – a testament to the hospitality of families across the globe who have treated the big man to cookies and milk (and the odd cheeky brandy).
When asked about the unique characteristics of Santa’s sleigh, a NORAD spokesperson told Insider: “We really don’t want to compare Santa’s sleigh to a C-130, but what we can confirm is that Santa’s sleigh is a versatile, all-weather, multi-purpose, vertical short-take-off and landing vehicle.
“It is capable of traveling vast distances without refueling and is deployed, as far as we know, only on December 24th (and sometimes briefly for a test flight about a month before Christmas).”
As Santa’s continues his annual journey, NORAD’s Santa tracking program continues to bring joy to children of all ages, reminding us of the magic and wonder of the holiday season.