how did norad start tracking santa
NORAD started “tracking” Santa in 1955 after a kid accidentally called a top‑secret military phone line that had been misprinted in a Sears Christmas ad as Santa’s number.
The mix‑up that started it all
In December 1955, Sears ran a newspaper ad telling children they could call Santa directly, but the phone number was wrong.
Instead of reaching a department store line, at least one child got through to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) operations center in Colorado, which was watching for Soviet bombers during the Cold War.
The call was answered by Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, the duty commander that night.
Realizing a child was on the line asking for Santa, he stayed in character, reassured the caller, and said the command would keep an eye on Santa’s flight from the North Pole.
How it turned into a tradition
After the first call, more children rang the same number, so Shoup had his staff start answering as if they were tracking Santa’s journey on their radar screens.
Soon, a public affairs officer turned the story into a light‑hearted news item, telling reporters that CONAD’s radars were monitoring Santa’s sleigh and ensuring him a safe trip.
The media loved the idea, and radio and newspapers began sharing “updates” on Santa’s location each Christmas Eve.
What started as a one‑off act of kindness became an annual outreach event that humanized a very serious Cold War command.
From CONAD to NORAD
In 1958, CONAD’s role was taken over by the newly formed North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, a joint U.S.–Canadian defense organization.
The Santa‑tracking tradition was carried over, and “NORAD Tracks Santa” has run every Christmas season since, now promoted as an official program of the command.
Today, volunteers at NORAD take calls, share updates on TV and radio, and run an online tracker that shows Santa’s simulated path around the world on December 24.
The program still uses the same basic story: high‑tech defense radars and sensors “follow” Santa to let children know where he is and when he might reach their region.
Fun extras and modern twists
NORAD’s Santa tracking has become part of global holiday pop culture, often covered in news features and livestreams each year.
In recent seasons, it has integrated web tools, apps, and partner technologies so families can follow Santa on phones, smart devices, and social media.
Meta description: Discover how a 1955 Sears ad misprint and a child’s phone call to a Cold War command center accidentally created NORAD’s now‑famous Santa tracking tradition, still going strong today.
TL;DR: A typo in a Sears “Call Santa” ad sent a kid to a secret CONAD phone line in 1955; the commander played along, press picked it up, and the bit evolved into NORAD’s long‑running “NORAD Tracks Santa” program.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.