It’s that time of year when Saint Nick allegedly travels around the world delivering billions of Christmas gifts to people who were nice this year, but where is Santa Claus now, and how close is he to Canada?
Thankfully, the answer to that question is easy, as there are multiple ways to track him.
While he was recently spotted at a Metro Vancouver restaurant, as of 1:30 pm Pacific Time, Santa Claus was travelling over African airspace.
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Both Google and NORAD have Santa Claus trackers that suggest he hasn’t yet made his way down to the truth north strong and free.
Here are some places he has visited, though, according to Google
- India
- Madagascar
- Somalia
- Lithuania
- Russia
Yes, Santa Claus visited Russia before Canada. But maybe he’s saving the best for last?
NORAD’s Santa tracking history
Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstofck
The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD commander-in-chief’s operations “hotline.”
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, which started the tradition.
In 1958, the governments of Canada and the US created a bi-national air defence command for North America called NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.
Since that time, NORAD men, women, family, and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world.
By the way, Claus has been cleared to enter Canadian airspace.
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