Michelle Obama helps NORAD track Santa

The North American Aerospace Defense Command usually focuses on USA airspace threats, but switches gears each year to help children track Santa’s journey.

The number was for a crisis phone at Air Operations Center at Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You can blast a streaming Good King Wenceslas while exploring Santa’s village, which includes information about NORAD, Santa Claus, holiday traditions, related YouTube videos, holiday stories and coloring pages.

Writing to fans on Facebook, NORAD said: “Thank you for letting us be part of the magic Santa”.

NORAD s involvement began 60 years ago when a wrong telephone number printed in a newspaper advertisement resulted in children calling for Santa. Hundreds of volunteers are also standing by to accept calls from an estimated 125,000 children all around the world asking where in the world is Santa.

NORAD took over Santa-tracking duties when it was created in 1958.

There sure exists a Santa who lives in Long Island instead of North Pole according to a Inside Edition article.

NORAD says on it’s website that a mistake led to the birth of its Santa tracker.

This year, through Bing, children can “free roam” the map and learn about the places Santa has visited.

“The Santa Tracker uses the same technology that’s powering the government’s critical systems”, said Susan Keys, head of Avaya Government Solutions. All night, Shoup and his team fielded calls, giving kids details about Santa’s location as he and his reindeer flew through the sky to deliver gifts to children.

The nose on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a tipoff. That gives Santa, and his trackers, a big challenge for their one-day mission that will come down to the last second before they return home and get ready for the next Christmas. They’ll have Santa’s exact location!