NORAD's Santa Tracker Continues to Spread Holiday Cheer Despite Technical Glitches

 The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has continued its long-standing tradition of tracking Santa's whereabouts, helping children around the world anticipate his arrival. A 3-D, interactive website at www.noradsanta.org allows users to follow Santa and his reindeer on their global delivery route, clicking to learn more about the various cities along the way.

NORAD's Santa tracker dates back to 1955 when a newspaper ad misdirected kids to the military hotline for information on Santa's location. In an effort to avoid disappointing the children, NORAD's director of operations at the time ordered staff to check radar and update kids on Santa's location. Despite a brief technical glitch on Sunday leaving children in the Pacific region in the dark about Santa's exact position, the group assured on Facebook that Santa was still flying and on his way to Fiji.

The tracker was quickly back online, and NORAD continued its tradition of setting up a temporary call center at its Colorado headquarters to answer children's questions. When not spreading holiday cheer, NORAD conducts aerospace and maritime control and warning operations -- including monitoring for missile launches from North Korea. This year, with the most recent ICBM test just days ago, Santa may have more on his mind as he passes over.