By Keith Coffman
DENVER, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Santa Claus drove his reindeer-powered sleigh over rooftops around the world on Wednesday, delivering gifts to millions of children in a magic Christmas Eve ritual that North American air defense officials say they began tracking 70 years ago.
Still, despite its devotion to a tradition dating back to the Cold War era of 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, possesses limited intelligence about the direction that Santa will take in any given year.
Santa is not required to file a flight plan. So the only thing NORAD knows for sure in advance is that the red-suited jolly old elf, also known as Kris Kringle or Saint Nicholas, takes off every Christmas Eve from his home base at the North Pole.
“NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where or when he will arrive at your house,” a senior NORAD official said in a press statement.
NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian military command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has provided images and updates on Santa’s worldwide journey for seven decades, along with its main task of monitoring air defenses and issuing aerospace and maritime warnings.
The Santa tracker tradition originated from a 1955 misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper of the telephone number of a department store for children to call and speak with Santa. The listed number went to what was then known as the Continental Air Defense Command.
An understanding officer took the youngsters’ calls and assured them that Santa was airborne and on schedule to deliver presents to good girls and boys – at least those who believe in him – flying aboard his reindeer-powered sleigh.
According to its website, NORAD detects Santa’s liftoff with its polar radar network, then follows his journey with the same satellites used to warn of any possible missile launches aimed at North America.
As soon as Santa’s lead reindeer, Rudolph, switches on his shiny red nose, military personnel can zero in on his location using the satellites’ infrared sensors.
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be following NORAD’s Santa tracker on Wednesday as he sat by a Christmas tree at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, fielding telephone calls from children around the country.
As he spoke to one youngster from Pennsylvania, Trump said, “So Santa right now is in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he’s heading toward our country. What would you like from Santa?”
Speaking to another caller, Trump jokingly explained the rationale for tracking Santa in terms of national security, saying, “We want to make sure he’s not infiltrated, that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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