Hey Kids: You can Track Santa on the Internet!
Belleville News-Democrat
Dec 23, 2009
Beginning Christmas Eve, children can watch Santa's progress around the world as the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado tracks his movement and updates it on the Internet.
The NORAD Tracks Santa Web site at www.noradsanta.org is up and running and features holiday games and activities for children. The site is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese.
On Christmas Eve the Web site will stream videos, captured by NORAD "Santa Cams," from numerous cities along Santa's journey. Children and the young-at-heart will also be able to keep up with Santa's progress through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and TroopTube.mil.
To follow Santa on any of these Web sites, type @noradsanta into the site's search engine and start your tracking.
Beginning at 1 a.m. on Dec. 25, visitors to the "NORAD Tracks Santa" Web site can watch Santa as he prepares his sleigh, checks his list, and goes through all his preparations to ensure he has a successful journey.
As soon as Santa takes off from the North Pole, children can track him with up-to-the-minute Google Maps and Google Earth reports.
Santa trackers will begin answering phones and replying to e-mail at 4 a.m. MST on Christmas Eve.
Children of all ages can call toll-free at (877) 446-6723 or can send an e-mail to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com.
The program began Dec. 24, 1955, when a child dialed a phone number that was misprinted in a newspaper advertisement and reached the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The commander at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station who answered the phone that night gave the youngster the information requested: Santa's whereabouts. This began the tradition of tracking Santa, a tradition that was carried on by NORAD when it was formed in 1958.
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