North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is a combined Canadian and American organization that monitors the airspace over Canada and the United States and enforces air sovereignty. For millions of children around the world, however, their most important mission of the year starts tomorrow with tracking Santa Claus.
“It’s one of the things I look forward to most throughout the year,” said Colonel Mark Lachappelle with the Canadian Armed Forces. He is currently stationed at NORAD headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “I’ve been doing this for probably about eight years, and just to be able to help the kids know where Santa is, and make sure that Santa’s safe going through his trips around the world is really important. I take pride in it every year.”
The tradition of NORAD tracking Santa goes back decades, to before the organization was formally created. It all began by accident, really.
“It started 69 years ago when a young child called a phone number that was listed in an advertisement in the local paper,” explained Lachappelle. The advertisement was in the local paper, and the number was a line to talk with Santa. It turns out, however, there was a typo. Instead of reaching the North Pole, the number connected the children with the desk of Colonel Harry Shoup, the crew commander at the time.
“When the colonel answered the phone, he realized that this young girl just really wanted to know where Santa was, and so he obviously answered all of the child’s questions, and directed the crew to continue to answer any questions that came in.”
The endeavour to track Santa takes a huge effort. There is the phone-in component, with military and civilian volunteers to answer the phones and provide updates for children. There is also the online component, with the tracker children can follow to see in real-time where Santa Claus is on Christmas Eve.
“Over 1000 people are here to make sure that it’s a successful season for NORAD Tracks Santa,” Lachappelle said, adding everyone there is excited for the day.
"I really love when you get questions from children," Lachappelle shared as one of his favourite things about the mission. "Just their honesty - some of their frank questions are pretty fun to answer. Of course, you like to hear, and see some of the reporters' faces light up with joy when they start asking some of these questions, and they reminisce about some of their times with Santa."
We will update you on where Santa Claus is throughout the day tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, you can also get up-to-date information on where Santa Claus is online here on Discover Estevan.