How you can track Santa's whereabouts throughout Christmas Eve

Santa Claus is coming to town, and it’s almost time for kids across the globe to get out their milk and cookies and prepare for his visit.

This Friday is Christmas Eve, which means Santa is about to embark on a massive global gift-giving journey, and there‘s one organization that will be tracking his whereabouts and making sure he stays safe.

The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), a United States and Canadian bi-national organization, tracks everything that flies in and around the North American airspace. Then on Christmas Eve, the organization takes on the additional job of tracking Santa.

“It’s a big responsibility, but we’re very proud to do that,” said Capt. Ken Jacobson, the public affairs officer for the Canadian NORAD Region, in an interview on Thursday.

HOW NORAD BEGAN TRACKING SANTA

Jacobson explained that NORAD began tracking Santa due to a mix-up that occurred back in 1955 when a department store misprinted the phone number on an advertisement. The incorrect number ended up being an unlisted number for the Continental Air Defence Command, NORAD’s predecessor.

When a child called the number, the commander on duty answered and realized there was a mistake. He then quickly assured the child that he was Santa and spoke with the kid. After that, the commander on duty called the assignment duty watch officer and told him to continue answering the phone to talk to the kids calling in.

From there, the ‘NORAD Tracks Santa’ initiative was born.

“Every year now, we track Santa. We provide Santa with safe passage through North America,” Jacobson said.

HOW DOES NORAD TRACK SANTA?

To track Santa, NORAD uses tools such as its North Warning System, which has 47 installations across Canada’s north and Alaska.

Jacobson noted that NORAD’s satellites can pick up on Rudolph’s red nose, because they are trained to see infrared signatures like you would see with a rocket.

“Rudolph’s nose has very, very bright infrared signatures that we can see very clearly with our radars,” Jacobson said.

He noted that as Santa gets close to Canada, NORAD has a team of pilots fly out to meet him.

“When they meet him, Santa always waves hi. He loves to see pilots. We tip our wings to say, ‘Hi Santa. How are you?’ We then continue to provide him safe passage through the North American airspace,” he said.

Anyone interested in tracking Santa on Christmas Eve can do so online or by calling 1-877-446-6723 to speak to someone who can tell you about his whereabouts. Phone lines open at 5 a.m. CT on Christmas Eve.

- With files from CTV’s Nicole Dube.