It is very exciting to be able to track Santa’s progress around the globe. As of this writing, he is making his rounds in Italy!
The NORAD website (noradsanta.org) allows you to watch Santa as he flies over different cities and also tracks how many presents delivered along the way.
[click for larger view]
NORAD – which stands for North American Aerospace Defense Command – is a military organization responsible for keeping watch of the skies and waterways of North America. Normally they use their equipment to watch for air attacks and missiles. On Christmas Eve, their equipment tracks Santa’s progress around the world.
This started in 1955 when Sears had an ad letting kids know they could call Santa on his private phone.
There was a misprint – instead of Santa’s phone, it was the number to NORAD. Instead of telling kids they had the wrong number, the Director of Operations Colonel Harry Shoup had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa and gave the kids updates.