Tracking Santa Live with NORAD: Learn about his global journey and the accidental beginning of the tradition

Amid concerns in the Northeast about possible drone sightings, one special sighting is expected to spread holiday joy nationwide: Santa Claus.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is once again prepared to track Santa and his reindeer around the world.

NORAD, the organization responsible for safeguarding the skies over the United States and Canada, will launch its Santa tracking system at 6 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve. Those eager to track Santa’s journey can do so on NORAD’s website or by calling the command center at 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to take part in this annual Christmas tradition.

The tracking service can also be accessed through the NORAD Tracks Santa app, social media, Amazon Alexa, OnStar and SiriusXM, according to NORAD.

This marks the 69th year that NORAD has been tracking Santa’s travels around the globe during the holiday season. The tradition began serendipitously in 1955, as explained on NORAD’s website, when a local newspaper ad mistakenly listed the phone number for children to speak directly with Santa. Instead of reaching the North Pole, a child’s call was answered by the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, who answered the child’s call, was quick to realize the mistake and assured the child he was Santa, according to the website. After more calls, Shoup assigned an officer to answer the calls, “and a tradition was born.” That tradition continued when NORAD was formed in 1958.

The Santa tracker site receives millions of visitors from around the world each year, according to NORAD, and volunteers typically answer more than 130,000 calls.