Track Santa’s Journey with NORAD This Christmas Eve
Families around the world can now experience Christmas Eve magic, thanks to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. This tradition gives children and adults alike an opportunity to follow Santa Claus’s route as he moves from the North Pole delivering gifts all around the globe.
This is the most inclusive service ever, as NORAD’s Santa Tracker now has a partnership with Interpreters Unlimited Inc. to make the program available in multiple languages for families from different cultural backgrounds to join in on the fun.
These technologies including radars and satellites from both the United States and Canada-NORAD track Santa as he makes his way across the sky. Families may follow his journey through either the NORAD Santa Tracker website or a user-friendly smartphone app or by phoning the hotline at 877-HI-NORAD.
Thanks to Interpreters Unlimited’s large network of over 10,000 interpreters, the tracker now provides translations and voiceovers in a wide range of languages. These include Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Urdu, and Chinese, among many others. This is truly the spirit of inclusion; the magic of tracking Santa will be available to families around the world.
No matter whether you like the application, the access website, or make call for hotlines, your NORAD Santa Tracker increases more thrill of the festivities on Christmas Eve and renders a whole global experience together with the people around you.
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Photo: Reuters, Germany
“When kids see where Santa is, they can follow in their own language,” said Shamus Sayed, vice president of Interpreters Unlimited. “Inclusion and visibility are so important.”
The NORAD Santa Tracker began in 1955 thanks to a misdialed phone number. A child called a number from a department store ad, hoping to speak with Santa, but instead reached Air Force Col. Harry Shoup at the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor. This charming mistake led to the beloved tradition of tracking Santa’s Christmas journey worldwide.
Realizing the potential for more calls, Shoup assigned a duty officer to respond, establishing a tradition that continued with NORAD’s formation in 1958.
1735031069-0/sidra--(3)1735031069-0.png)
Photo: Reuters, Hungary
Today, the tracker engages millions of children from more than 200 countries and territories. NORAD’s hotline fields over 130,000 calls each Christmas Eve, while families can also follow Santa via Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
“Santa tracking is a worldwide effort,” said NORAD spokesperson Becky Farmer. “We know it’s very important to make the tracker accessible to people all over the world.”
There’s no charge for the interpretation services provided by Interpreters Unlimited to NORAD, with Sayed also being the father of two. “There are 101 reasons why kids want to see a Santa who represents them and their culture and language,” said Sayed, explaining why this is a good thing. “Seeing Santa brings a smile every time. It’s an escape for kids and parents alike, bringing the spirit of the holidays home and making it tangible.”
1735031176-0/sidra--(4)1735031176-0.png)
Photo: Reuters, Germany
“When kids see where Santa is, they can follow in their own language,” said Shamus Sayed, vice president of Interpreters Unlimited. “Inclusion and visibility are so important.”
The NORAD Santa Tracker began in 1955 thanks to a misdialed phone number. A child called a number from a department store ad, hoping to speak with Santa, but instead reached Air Force Col. Harry Shoup at the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor. This charming mistake led to the beloved tradition of tracking Santa’s Christmas journey worldwide.
Realizing the potential for more calls, Shoup assigned a duty officer to respond, establishing a tradition that continued with NORAD’s formation in 1958.
Photo: Reuters, Hungary
Today, the tracker engages millions of children from more than 200 countries and territories. NORAD’s hotline fields over 130,000 calls each Christmas Eve, while families can also follow Santa via Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
“Santa tracking is a worldwide effort,” said NORAD spokesperson Becky Farmer. “We know it’s very important to make the tracker accessible to people all over the world.”
There’s no charge for the interpretation services provided by Interpreters Unlimited to NORAD, with Sayed also being the father of two. “There are 101 reasons why kids want to see a Santa who represents them and their culture and language,” said Sayed, explaining why this is a good thing. “Seeing Santa brings a smile every time. It’s an escape for kids and parents alike, bringing the spirit of the holidays home and making it tangible.”
Photo: AFP, Pakistan
NORAD takes voiceovers for interpreters at either its headquarters in Colorado Springs or via remote locations, and Sayed pointed to the significance of human interpreting. “Artificial intelligence tools usually miss cultural nuance,” he said, “so the human touch to interpretation matters so much at this point.“.
Sayed encouraged families to enjoy the tracker: “Go visit the site. Enjoy it, whether you’re adults, kids, old, young—everyone. Go to the site or make the call, and use this as an excuse to smile.”
As Santa’s journey unfolds, NORAD’s multilingual service ensures that the magic of Christmas reaches children in their native languages, reinforcing the universal joy of the holiday season.
