Editor’s note: This story was originally published on May 12, 2024.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
For most of us, NORAD really only has one job.
And that’s to track Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve.
On May 12, 1958, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD).
The role of this defense command has grown into Northern Command, tasked with protecting U.S. soil.
But in this delightful piece by colleague Asia Bown, we learn how and why NORAD helps keep track of Santa and his flights on Christmas Eve:
“Why does NORAD track Santa’s flight?”
According to legend, a newspaper advertisement many years ago listed a number for children to call Santa Claus, but got the number wrong.
The number was for a crisis phone at Air Operations Center at Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Air Force Col. Harry Shoup took a call from a child and thought he was being pranked. When he figured out he was talking to a little boy, he pretended he was Santa.
More children called. Shoup eventually instructed airmen answering the phone to offer Santa’s radar location as he crossed the globe.
That sparked the tradition that continues today.
Through the years, the Deseret News has published many stories about NORAD, and why it is crucial to the defense of North America.
“Aging jets, radar worry NORAD chief”
“War room status cools along with Cold War”
“‘We cannot fail’ — Northern Command now ready for domestic defense”
“Opinion: How Russia unintentionally strengthened NATO”
“NORAD to search the skies on Jan. 1, 2000, for errant missiles”
“NORAD chiefs eye busier Arctic”
In early 2024, the NORAD team tracked an identified weather balloon that traveled across Utah.
