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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Nisha Mal

The NORAD Santa tracker is live - find out where Santa is right now

It's Christmas Eve, which means one thing for children. Father Christmas is on his way, and he's bringing presents.

The annual NORAD tracker has just launched so little ones can keep up to date with his travels. It's a busy night for Mr Claus, as it's estimated he travels 510,000,000 km - approximately 1,800 miles per second.

Tonight, families will leave out mince pies and a glass of sherry or milk for him to enjoy as he visits houses around the world. Carrot sticks will be left out for his reindeer Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

The NORAD Santa tracker began in 1955 in America, after an advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to NORAD.

The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and the tracker was born. Before it became an interactive tool, children could find out where Santa was by calling the NORAD hotline in December.

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