Every Christmas Eve, Santa Claus performs remarkable feats, yet the practice of tracking his journey live has only recently become a beloved global custom.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is tasked with ensuring the safety of North American skies year-round, but since 1955, it has also followed Santa as he makes his rounds delivering presents to kids across the globe.

The origin of this fun tradition stems from a boy in Colorado Springs who accidentally dialed the NORAD hotline while trying to reach Santa.

In a 1999 interview, Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup recounted, “He went on a little bit, and then he took a breath and said, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa.’”

NORAD turned into a go-to source for Santa-related updates due to this quirky incident, as it began receiving calls from children and parents around the world, sharing news about Santa via social media to millions. They also maintain a website that tracks Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve.

Here’s everything you need to know about NORAD “Tracks Santa” and how you can follow Santa on Christmas Eve.

The beginnings of NORAD’s Santa tracking

A Sears advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper contained a phone number for children to call and speak to Santa. However, by mistake, the ad published the secret hotline for the Continental Air Defense Command (a predecessor of NORAD) instead, which was also located in Colorado Springs.

When Shoup answered the emergency-only “red phone,” he was met with a tiny voice listing Christmas wishes, as reported by the Associated Press.

The boy soon figured out he was not speaking to Santa, but Shoup engaged with him anyway, using a “deep, jolly” tone as described by AP.

“Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup told the child, as shared by AP.

Learning from the boy’s mother that the phone number was published in error, he hung up but soon received another call from a girl sharing her Christmas list. The number of calls quickly rose to fifty per day, according to AP.

A colleague of Shoup’s humorously illustrated Santa flying over the North Pole on a large plexiglass map used to track unidentified objects. Shoup saw an opportunity to lift spirits among the military and the public, drawing inspiration from the call and the drawing, according to AP.

“It painted the military in a positive light — showing we’re not just a bunch of snobby people who don’t care about Santa Claus,” Shoup told AP.

Track Santa’s route throughout Christmas Eve

The “Track Santa” website by NORAD launched on December 1, but the excitement picks up on Christmas Eve, when you can track Santa’s global journey from 4 a.m. to midnight MST / 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. EST.

The Santa tracking map can be found here, available in multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean. The “NORAD Tracks Santa” app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and you can also follow the tracker on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.

On December 24, anyone wishing to track Santa via phone can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723), with operators available from 6 a.m. to midnight MST.

Google has also joined in the festivities, launching its own Santa Tracker online and through an app that will go live on December 24. You can find various Christmas-themed games, quizzes, and a family guide through Google’s Santa Tracker.