Millions of People fall asleep filled with anticipation on Christmas Eve. However for employees on the North American Aerospace Protection Command (NORAD), Dec. 23 is their closing evening earlier than a busy and riveting day.
NORAD and U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs director Col. Elizabeth Mathias and greater than 1,200 volunteersmostly U.S. and Canadian army personnel and local people members in Colorado Springsspend Dec. 24 engaged on the NORAD Tracks Santa program. The web site that permits customers to observe Santa’s sleigh has change into a phenomenon, garnering 9.6 million web page visits in 2022.
“Three-hundred sixty-five days a yr, NORAD is keeping track of issues that would doubtlessly threaten North America, and ensuring that the nation’s leaders in each the U.S. and Canada are conscious and may take acceptable motion if vital,” Mathias informed TIME in a cellphone interview on Dec. 12. “However on Dec. 24, we have now one extra very particular mission, which is to trace Santa as he flies across the globe and guarantee his security of flight. We do this with the identical programs NORAD makes use of day by day.”
TIME spoke to Mathias in regards to the NORAD Santa Trackers origins, the surprisingly large effort behind this system, and getting a name from members of the Ukrainian army final Christmas Eve.
The next interview has been calmly edited and condensed for readability.

How lengthy have you ever been working with the Santa tracker program?
That is my second Santa monitoring season. It was an actual delight to seek out out that this was one in all my obligations once I joined the staff right here in 2022. However the NORAD Tracks Santa program has been occurring for 68 years.
How precisely did this system get began?
The origin story has a couple of twists and turns, however the story that all of us perceive is {that a} native retailer had printed an commercial that had a quantity for kids to name and communicate with Santa on the North Pole. A toddler referred to as that quantity, however misdialed it, and as a substitute reached an unpublished quantity to the army operations heart for the group that on the time was referred to as the Continental Air Protection Command. This was in 1955. The Air Pressure colonel who answered the cellphone that day, and was chatting with a toddler asking to speak to Santa Claus, began to play alongside and realized that there is perhaps extra kids calling and the ops heart ought to be ready for it. We stock that custom ahead every year by having an ops heart that solutions cellphone calls, in addition to permits followers to trace Santa on the web site.
Are you able to share how this system runs and operates?
I take into consideration the NORAD Tracks Santa program all yr lengthy. I’ve two personnel who’re accountable with retaining issues on observe all year long. And once we’re NORAD Tracks Santa in February, or in Might, or in September, we’re doing a pair key issues. One is sustaining relationships with our greater than 70 contributors who’re outdoors entities. These are a few of our key companions, like Microsoft or Amazon Internet Providers, or Cesium or Ansys. We even have a few of our extra native contributors like our Colorado Springs Navy Affairs Committee or the Air Pressure Academy Band.
We are also working very carefully with the bottom group right here at Peterson Area Pressure Base in Colorado Springs. They supply us with the ability for our name heart and assist for our communications strains. We are also beginning to consider what our volunteer footprint would appear like. We have now greater than 1,200 individuals volunteering each Dec. 24 to assist us not solely run the decision heart however reply these cellphone calls from world wide. In 2022, we obtained greater than 260,000 cellphone calls on Dec. 24.
As soon as we get into the vacation season, we’re actually occupied with how you can let individuals know that they will be part of us once more this yr to trace Santa. So we have now lots of social media content material accessible on a number of platforms. We conduct outreach to reporters world wide in a number of languages. We launched our web site each Dec. 1 in order that by the point we get in regards to the center of December, individuals are beginning to get excited.
On Dec. 20, we make the decision heart kind of operational; we beautify, we have now our contributors are available in and assist us arrange, however we do not begin answering cellphone calls. We do not begin monitoring Santa till he takes off for his annual journey on Dec. 24. And as soon as he begins flying, we assist all people know that he is on his method in order that they will plan their celebrations and most significantly, be in mattress earlier than he arrives.
I am questioning if you happen to can actually stroll me via what Dec. 24 appears like for you, as a result of I think about it is a hectic 24 hours.
It completely is. We begin with our space-based programs, our satellites, which can be capable of detect Rudolph’s crimson nostril when Santa takes off from the North Pole. After which we’re ready to make use of our radar programs and satellites world wide to know the place he’s. After which when he will get nearer to North America, we’re ready to make use of our NORAD plane, our fighter jets, to truly visually detect Santa as he involves the American continent.
So early on Dec. 24, when our name heart goes reside and our web site goes reside, is when Santa takes off. He does not file a flight plan with NORAD, however our followers world wide are welcome to name us at 1-877-Hello-NORAD (1-877-446-6723), or they’re welcome to go to our web site, www.noradsanta.org, and ask us to see the place Santa is touring.
We obtain calls continually all through the day. We have now actually nice conversations with individuals from world wide. We spend lots of time speaking to climate channels as a result of lots of their content material on Dec. 24 is monitoring the climate and whether or not Santa’s flight may very well be interrupted.
Are you able to share a very foolish or attention-grabbing cellphone name that you have obtained?
Final yr, we obtained a cellphone name from members of the Ukrainian army, who simply needed to speak to anyone about being within the struggle on Dec. 24, and one in all our members of management right here was capable of speak to them and allow them to know that we had been occupied with them. That was a reasonably particular second and fairly emotional for the chief who took that cellphone name.
I personally took a cellphone name from a toddler in Amsterdam who was very excited to know when Santa could be there. And I defined that primarily based on what we had been seeing, he was going to be there inside an hour and that they may need to get to mattress. And this baby responded, Okay, I’ll inform them, and actually ran away and did not even hold up the cellphone.
What affect engaged on this staff and mission has on you and what has it taught you in regards to the that means of the Christmas spirit?
I’d supply three issues. I feel one is that this program is a reminder of how significant it may be to contribute to one thing greater than your self. I do not see myself as managing this program or working this program a lot as being a steward of this program as a result of this program is method older than me.
I’d moreover supply that it is an awesome reminder as a pacesetter that everyone who participates on this program is ready to study from it. We have now the chance to review it to have a look at, for instance, the information of how many individuals go to our web site or work together with social media posts. We will have a look at how we put together a few of our senior officers for media interviews.
The ultimate factor I’d supply is that anytime you speak to any individual world wide and say that you just’re affiliated with NORAD, most of them will ask about NORAD Tracks Santa. And I see that as a reminder that generally what individuals take into consideration the army, or what they’re aware of, is probably not the factor that the army thinks or which will have been most not too long ago on their thoughts. It is a reminder to zoom out and take a minute to understand the experiences that converge presently of yr throughout vacation traditions. And what individuals bear in mind or cherish or deliver into their traditions can all the time shock you somewhat bit, in a method that reminds us all that we’re linked via our vacation traditions.