The grinches in Washington may have shut down the government, but that won’t stop the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from ensuring Saint Nick completes his mission.
NORAD tweeted over the weekend that it will continue its 63-year-old tradition of tracking Santa Claus’ progress around the world. That’s largely because of the roughly 1,500 volunteers assist the military personnel in making sure the program is possible, the defense agency said.
In the event of a government shutdown, NORAD will continue with its 63-year tradition of NORAD Tracks Santa on Dec. 24. Military personnel who conduct NORAD Tracks Santa are supported by approximately 1,500 volunteers who make the program possible each and every year. pic.twitter.com/fY0oyjrdDc
— NORAD & USNORTHCOM (@Norad_Northcom) December 21, 2018
The tradition began in 1955 when a Colorado business sponsoring a hotline that children could call to follow Santa’s movement misprinted their phone number on an advertising circular. The mistake lead to thousands of children calling NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center.
As of noon Monday, NORAD placed Santa over Russia, headed to Europe, and said he had already delivered 2 million gifts.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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