Father Christmas is currently flying around the globe to deliver presents to children around the world.
Every year Norad – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – tracks Santa’s journey as he travels the planet in his sleigh.
The tradition began in 1955 when a child mistakenly rang a Colorado military command asking to speak to Father Christmas – after a local newspaper ran an advert by a department store containing a misprinted phone number.
Air Force Commander Harry Shoup, who was manning the phones that Christmas Eve, quickly realised the mistake and assured the child that he was in fact Santa Claus.
As more calls came in that night, Commander Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering the phone, birthing a tradition that passed over to Norad when it was formed in 1958.
Every year since, the agency – which ordinarily defends and monitors the skies over North America – has fielded children’s questions about the red-and-white-clad chimney intruder and his unrivalled delivery schedule.
Stick with us as we follow his route around the world.
