NORAD began to track Santa Claus in 1955, following an accidental phone call made to the agency by a young boy interested in in speaking with Kris Kringle.

NORAD will once again be tracking Santa this Christmas Eve, but how did the beloved tradition start? Relive the tale through our history podcast.

Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages, from English to Japanese.

It started with a child's accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called.

It was December 1955 when Col. Harry W. Shoup of the Continental Air Defense Command received a call on a red telephone at his windowless command post in Colorado Springs.

Each year, at least 100,000 kids call the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages.

NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens.In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that ...

NORAD’s Santa tracker is a Christmas tradition that’s become nearly global in scope. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado.

Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list.

Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war.Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that ...

NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens.In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that ...

NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010.