Top US military agency NORAD keeps watch over Santa’s around the world

People dressed as Santa Claus gather in Brooklyn’s McCarren Park during the SantaCon 2015 in New York City December 12, 2015, the 21st anniversary of the event that sees hundreds of people dress as Father Christmas.

Yes, Santa Claus may fly at the speed of light on Christmas Eve, but the world’s kids still want to know exactly where he is.

Click off the map for a virtual visit to Santa’s village at the North Pole, where movies, games, music, the history of NORAD and the annual holiday message from NORAD Commander Admiral William Gortney.

“Our maritime patrol aircraft have been out all morning making sure nothing’s going to get in his way off the east coast”.

Once again, ’tis the season for tracking Santa – something that North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, has been doing for 60 years.

The tracking of Santa pre-dates the Internet age, and NORAD itself – and was quite accidental.

An officer there took calls from several children and assured them Santa was on schedule, beginning a tradition that now employs modern technology, including a smart-phone app and social media.

At NORAD, military personnel track Santa’s movements, while 1,500 volunteers handle the phones, as children from around the world call in to find out Santa’s whereabouts.

Tis the season to be tracking Santa!

The program is in its 60th year, and in addition to serving kids by phone it includes a website that shows Santa’s location along with constantly updating statistics about his trip.

Instead of telling the kids that they dialed the wrong number, Shoup said that he wasn’t Santa Claus but he could track him on radar.

The route, which usually Santa do, starts leaving the North Pole crossing the Pacific Ocean, where it begins to deliver presents in island nations, and then he heads west on the northern and southern hemispheres.

Last year, NORAD took more than 134,000 calls over 23 hours.

Obama: “You’re just watching TV?” That’s how he learned that a Sears, Roebuck & Co. advertisement in the local newspaper had invited kids to call Santa at ME 2-6681 – the number for the red phone.

NORAD will also share Santa’s location on Facebook and Twitter.