Vicki L MorrisonToday the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado issued a statement announcing they are fully prepared to track Santa’s 2014 yuletide journey.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org has been launched. NORAD acknowledged families are busy this time of year, finding it difficult to track Santa on their desktop computers. A mobile version of the site rectifies this problem.
The improved website offers a holiday countdown, new games, daily activities, and more. The website is available in eight languages; English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.
Official NORAD Tracks Santa apps are also available in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores, so parents and children can countdown the days until Santa’s launch on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking opportunities are also offered on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+. Santa followers just need to type “@noradsanta” into each search engine to get started.
Also new for 2014, the website features Santa’s elves in the North Pole Village. NORAD Tracks Santa is introducing the newest elf and asking the public to help choose the perfect name for him. Details can be found via NORAD Tracks Santa social media or in the “Name the Elf” video in Santa’s North Pole Movie Theater at www.noradsanta.org .
Starting at 12:01 a.m. MST on December 24, website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight. NORAD’s Santa Cams will stream videos on the website as Santa makes his way over various locations.
Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialling the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to .
Any time on December 24, Windows Phone users can ask Cortana for Santa’s location. As families are travelling at Christmas OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to immediately find Santa.
NORAD Tracks Santa began in 1955 when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa directly – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. Thus began the tradition, which NORAD carried on since its creation in 1958. NORAD Tracks Santa is a culmination of the efforts of close to 40 contributing agencies from across North America.
Canadian NORAD Region is part of the overall North American organization. The mission of the Canadians is to provide aerospace surveillance, identification, control and warning for the defence of Canada and North America. From Canadian NORAD Region headquarters, 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba more than 600 CAF members across the country execute a variety of tasks to defend Canadian airspace, including identifying and tracking all aircraft – even Santa’s sleigh, entering Canadian airspace, exercising operational command and control of all air defence forces in CANR and operations in support of other government departments and agencies.
Please continue to visit the Canadian Military Family Magazine website for NORAD updates on Santa and his progress throughout the month of December.
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