Sometimes kids drop the phone after hearing Santa won’t show up if they’re not asleep. Others who call the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline wonder if Saint Nick will be able to find them.
Adults who also remain devoted to the jolly figure said to deliver presents around the world are checking up on his journey.
For 70 years, that’s been the tradition at the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) — a joint US and Canadian operation charged with monitoring the skies for threats since the Cold War.
More than 1,000 volunteers will take calls on Christmas Eve from 4 am to midnight MST (12 pm to 8 am CET) to support the practice.
For the first time this year, Santa seekers can place a call through the program’s website, which organisers say will be easier for people outside North America.
The website allows people to follow Santa’s journey in nine languages, including English and Japanese.
Last year, about 380,000 calls came into a hangar festooned with Christmas decorations at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs — the home of NORAD.
While Santa is no threat, the same combination of radar, satellites, and jets that helps NORAD carry out its mission year-round makes it capable of tracking Santa's progress from the International Date Line over the Pacific Ocean, said a NORAD spokesperson.
Rudolph’s nose gives off a heat signature similar to a missile that is picked up by NORAD’s satellites, she said.
