For the past 69 years the folks at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) have been tracking Santa Claus’ journey across the world to make sure he’s safe and doing his deliveries unencumbered. After all, he’s got the most important job of the year, which is to unload millions of presents to kids made by hardworking elves at the North Pole.
Yesterday (December 23rd), government officials in Ottawa gave Santa the all clear to enter Canadian airspace and deliver presents to boys and girls, which means Canadian kids can watch Santa’s journey online. The NORAD Santa Tracker allows kids to see how many presents the big man has delivered so far, play games, and even watch short movies.
For kids who may be visually impaired, there is a phone number they can call to hear where Santa is located. In addition to the NORAD Santa Tracker website, 620 CKRM will also have numerous news reports throughout Christmas Eve updating Santa’s progress.
NORAD is a defense partnership between Canada and the United States which was founded in May of 1958 as a way to ensure the safety of North American airspace, particularly in the Cold War era. NORAD is commanded by the US, however the Deputy Commander is always a Canadian and is appointed by the Prime Minister. While NOARD is primarily commanded in Colorado, there are three regional headquarters located in Elmendorf Air Base in Alaska, CFB Winnipeg, and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.
