Santa Claus and his reindeer are rocketing around the globe, with billions of stops to make in less than 24 hours.
Father Christmas has already soared past locations around the world, from Nunavut, northern Canada, to southern Chile, with multiple trips through the Caribbean.
Every Christmas Eve, Norad – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – provides real-time tracking of Santa’s sleigh as it navigates the skies.
The cherished tradition dates back to 1955 when a misprint in a department store advert led a young child to call a Colorado military command center asking to speak to Santa Claus.
Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, who picked up the call that night, played along and assured the child he was Santa. As more calls poured in, he assigned an officer to handle the queries, starting a festive custom that Norad continued after its creation in 1958.
For decades, Norad has swapped its usual airspace monitoring duties to answer children’s questions about Santa’s journey and his astonishing present-delivery operation. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the organisation to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online – in nine languages – as St Nick swoops along the earth’s meridians.
Stay tuned for updates as we follow Santa’s magical route across the world.
Watch Live: Norad tracks Santa’s annual journey delivering presents around the world
Santa Claus and his reindeer have officially taken off
How to track Santa’s journey
Why did Norad start tracking Santa?
What route does Santa take?
When will Santa arrive at my house?
02:29 , Josh Marcus
After some passes through Greenland and Canada, Santa is back in warmer climes.
His sleigh just passed Puerto Rico.
He’s delivered 5,442,632,150 so far.
Personally, I’m hoping for some new pairs of socks. A cliché gift perhaps, but you can’t have too many.
01:53 , Josh Marcus
Santa is passing above Greenland around the globe.
Perhaps St. Nick can settle the ongoing diplomatic tension caused by Donald Trump claiming he wants to take over the territory.
Trump wants to purchase Greenland. How would that actually work?
01:35 , Josh Marcus
That Santa Claus sure moves fast.
The red rocket has been spotted above the island nation of Sint Maarten.
The Independent last covered Sint Maarten on news of this dramatic ocean rescue.
Warship rescues crew of sinking tug in the Caribbean
00:53 , Josh Marcus
U.S. military personnel may have access to high-tech jets and drones, but they’ve still got respect for the good ol’ sleigh.
“We know Santa has been doing this for over 2,000 years. He is one of the best aviators we have ever seen. … In his 2,000 years plus, he has never had an accident,” 2nd Lt. Tyler Turnmire, with the 601 Air Operations Center at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, told news station WSAW.
According to NORAD, Mr. Claus is currently above the Chile-Argentina border.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 23:55 , Josh Marcus
Maybe Santa is looking for some R&R on his round-the-world journey, because NORAD is showing Santa’s sleigh nearing the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago nation within the Kingdom of Denmark.
The islands have become a haven for travelers in recent years, described as one of Europe’s best kept secrets.
Don’t rest too long, St. Nick, there are still so many presents to be delivered!
Shhh, I’m on vacation. Travelers are on a quest for the quiet
‘Exhilarating’ islands with stunning scenery are Europe’s best kept secret
Tuesday 24 December 2024 23:25 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus is en route to Monrovia, Liberia, where he is set to deliver sackfuls of presents to the West African country’s 5.5million population.
Liberia was founded in 1822 as an outpost for freed American slaves returning to Africa from bondage in the Americas. It eventually became a commonwealth, and achieved independence in 1847.
The capital, Monrovia, is named after the fifth US president James Monroe, who supported the territory’s colonisation and helped fund its establishment.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 22:42 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus is now en route to Barcelona, Spain. The Catalan capital is home to just under two million people – a lot of chimneys for Father Christmas to climb down.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 21:41 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus just dropped off sackfuls of presents to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, in time for Christmas Day morning.
Sarajevo has a population of just under 300,000 and is surrounded by the majestic Dinaric Alps once used by the Bosnian Serbs to besiege the city during the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 20:50 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus is now en route to Luanda, the capital of Angola. It is a port city on the west coast of Southern Africa, home to around 9million people.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 20:42 , Alexander Butler
Father Christmas has made it all the way to South Africa to deliver his presents after setting off from the North Pole earlier today.
He arrived on his sleigh in Johannesburg just now, a vibrant city of just six million. He is now en route to Cape Town to drop off more presents made by his crafty hard-working elves.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 20:14 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus has landed in Bethlehem. The Palestinian town in the West Bank is the birthplace of Jesus Christ and where the Christian Church of the Nativity is.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 20:00 , Alexander Butler
The tradition began in 1955, when a child mistakenly rang a Colorado military command asking to speak to Father Christmas – after a local newspaper ran an advert by a department store containing a misprinted phone number.
As more calls came in that night, Commander Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering the phone, birthing a tradition that passed over to Norad when it was formed in 1958.
Every year since, the agency — which defends and monitors the skies over North America — has fielded children’s questions about the red-and-white-clad chimney intruder and his unrivaled delivery schedule.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 19:30 , Alexander Butler
Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west.
So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.
“Keep in mind, Santa’s route can be affected by weather, so it’s really unpredictable,” Norad states on its website.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 19:00 , Alexander Butler
“NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route,” the military organization’s website states, “which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house. We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep! In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24th. If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later, but only when the children are asleep!”
Tuesday 24 December 2024 18:41 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus is now bound for the International Space Station (ISS) – in orbit around 250 miles above earth’s atmosphere.
There are seven crew members currently at the ISS awaiting Santa’s sleigh: Alexey Ovchinin, Suni Williams,Butch Wilmore, Ivan Vagner, Don Pettit, Aleksandr Gorbunov, and Nick Hague.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 18:17 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus and his nine reindeers have made their first stop in Africa. They touched down, bearing gifts, in Mogadishu, Somalia, just now.
Mogadishu has a population of around 2.5million. It is the capital of the East African country and has served as an important trading city for millennia – something Santa well understands.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 17:51 , Alexander Butler
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph, and Santa Claus, are now heading to Tehran.
The Iranian capital is home to around 10million people. Iranians who have converted to Christianity from Islam can only practise their faith in secret.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 17:17 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus has now reached Karachi, Pakistan. It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20million.
This is about 13million short of New Delhi, where Santa visited earlier, but still a huge amount of people to deliver presents for.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 17:02 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus is now heading further south to the Maldive Islands, and archipelago with a population of around 500,000 people.
It is made up of an impressive 1,192 islands but is still the smallest country on the entire Asian continent, with a land area of 298 square kilometres.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 16:57 , Alexander Butler
Santa Claus is now speeding ahead across the entire Indian subcontinent to Sri Lanka – a small island nation located at the southern tip of India.
He will stop at the capital city of Colombo, a place home to just under 1million people. A small city compared to New Dheli, but still many presents for Santa to deliver in time for Christmas Day.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 16:53 , Alexander Butler
Santa and his by now, surely hungry reindeers, have just landed in New Dheli, India. The capital city is home to a whopping 34million people – so a lot of presents for those who have been nice this year.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 16:36 , Alexander Butler
Santa has now reached the Kazakhstan capital Astana. He will now make his way to Kyrgyzstan, a land-locked central Asian country bordering China.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 16:31 , Alexander Butler
Santa is now flying over Russia after dropping presents off in Norilsk, a closed city some 300km north of the Arctic Circle.
It is 2,4000km from Santa’s home in the North Pole. He is now flying south to the Burmistrovo, a settlement in Russia.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 16:15 , Alexander Butler
Santa has just flown across Myanmar and landed in Lhasa, Tibet. He will now be heading to Zhangye, the northern Chinese city near the border with Mongolia.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 15:57 , Albert Toth
Santa has now travelled up out of Indonesia and into Thailand, where he has just visited the capital, Bangkok. He’ll now be heading east again to deliver presents to Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
This part of the world is called Mainland Southeast Asia, but is also known as Indochina.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 15:45 , Albert Toth
With Indonesia checked off, Santa heads back across the South China Sea to Singapore. There’s a few islands along the way here which he’s also been sure to take care of.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 15:35 , Albert Toth
Santa has just dropped off all of his presents for Christmas Island, an Australian territory off the coast of Indonesia.
The small island has a population of just under 1,700, and was named after its discovery on Christmas Day by English sailor Captain William Mynors – in 1643!
Next stop – back to Indonesia!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 15:30 , Albert Toth
Santa has just made his last stop in Australia, travelling from Perth to Geraldton. Now for a long journey across the Indian Ocean for a stop at… Christmas Island!
(I bet that’s one of his favourites).
Tuesday 24 December 2024 15:16 , Albert Toth
The night has barely begun, but Santa’s already delivered 1.5 billion presents to people across the world. So far he’s visited New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, and parts of Australia, China and Russia.
Next stop – back down under to Western Australia!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 15:12 , Albert Toth
Santa has just made a long trip across central China, taking him from Hong Kong to Chongqing to Haikou. He’s now just dipped off the south coast to travel across the South China Sea and visit Brunei.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:52 , Albert Toth
With the Philippines checked off, Santa heads back northwards to the bustling Hong Kong.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:46 , Albert Toth
Santa has just make a quick stop at Taiwan on his was to the Philippines, taking him back to the equator.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:42 , Albert Toth
Have you heard of the Yellow Sea? It’s located between China and the Korean region – and Santa just travelled over it to get to Shangai, the biggest city in China.
Next stop – Taiwan!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:36 , Albert Toth
Squeezing in a little sightseeing, Santa has just delivered presents to everyone who lives near the Great Wall of China. At 13,171 miles the ancient structure is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Next stop is China’s capital – Beijing!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:30 , Albert Toth
Santa has now completed his trip across South Korea and – after a trip to Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea – reaches China, the world’s second most populous country at 1.4 billion people.
He’s got his work cut out for him!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:23 , Albert Toth
From Tokyo to Okinawa, Santa has finished his work in Japan in just ten short minutes. His sleigh now heads to South Korea where his first stop is Jeju Island.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:11 , Albert Toth
After a short skip across the Pacific Ocean, Santa has now reached Sapporo, at the northern tip of Japan. He be now making his way south, being sure to visit all the islands that make up the East Asian nation.
Next stop is the capital city – Tokyo!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:00 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus has already delivered more than one billion gifts to children around the globe.
Next stop – Japan!
Tuesday 24 December 2024 13:52 , Tara Cobham
Santa has left Australia and is now heading to East Timor to deliver gifts.
He has just stopped in Dili.
Next he will be in Sorong, West Papua.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 13:34 , Tara Cobham
Father Christmas is now making his way across Australia.
His last stop was Brisbane, his next is Sydney.
He and his reindeer have already delivered more than 900 million gifts.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 13:26 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus is fast making his way to Australia after stopping in Papua New Guinea.
He was last seen in Daru and will next be delivering gifts in Cooktown, where it is almost midnight and so very soon will be Christmas Day.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 13:07 , Tara Cobham
Father Christmas has just left Nevelsk in Sakhalin Island.
He is headed for San Vincente in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, where he will be delivering presents in a few minutes’ time.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 12:44 , Tara Cobham
Santa’s next stop is Kurilsk in the Kuril Islands, which stretch between Japan and Russia and separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean.
He just delivered gifts to across Palikir in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 12:40 , Tara Cobham
Volunteers are busy taking calls via the Norad Tracks Santa hotline.
They typically answer more than 130,000 calls from children across the globe.
You can call them at 1-877-446-6723
Tuesday 24 December 2024 12:27 , Tara Cobham
Father Christmas was last seen in New Caledonia.
He is now heading for Vanuatu, where he will be delivering gifts in just a few seconds.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 12:22 , Tara Cobham
Watch live as Santa Claus begins his yearly lap around the world, being pulled by his nine reindeer to deliver presents to children across the globe:
Norad tracks Santa’s annual journey delivering presents around the world
Tuesday 24 December 2024 12:19 , Tara Cobham
Santa and his sleigh is now heading to Fiji.
He will be delivering presents to children in Suva in a few minutes, where it is a comparatively balmy 26C.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 12:04 , Tara Cobham
Father Christmas is now on his way to Antarctica.
His first stop there will be McMurdo Station, where it is a chilly -7C.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:53 , Tara Cobham
Santa has been busy, having already delivered more than 300 million gifts to children eagerly awaiting his arrival.
He is currently steering his sleigh through the Pacific, with his next stop being Chatham Island, New Zealand.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:46 , Tara Cobham
Father Christmas and his sleigh is now headed for New Zealand.
Their first stop there will be Auckland, where it is nearing 1am on Christmas Day.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:42 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus was just spotted in Samoa.
He and his reindeer made a stop in Taga, as they have already delivered almost 250 million gifts.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:25 , Tara Cobham
Santa has left Russia.
He will soon make it to Wake Island, US Minor Outlying Islands.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:22 , Tara Cobham
Santa is less than a minute away from Esso in Russia, where it is close to midnight.
The time in the village is 23.21 on Christmas Eve (GMT+12).
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:08 , Tara Cobham
Santa is heading for Russia.
His first stop in the country will be Uelen.
He and his reindeer have already delivered almost 50 million presents.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:05 , Tara Cobham
Tuesday 24 December 2024 11:03 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus and his reindeer have begun their journey around the globe.
They are set to make billions of stops over the next 24 hours.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 10:55 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus and his reindeers are officially getting ready for take off, according to Norad.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 10:48 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus will take off on his sleigh within the hour, according to Norad.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 10:03 , Tara Cobham
Norad’s radars and satellites are ready to track Santa Claus and his reindeer on their journey around the world.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 09:47 , Tara Cobham
Tuesday 24 December 2024 09:06 , Tara Cobham
The current conditions at the North Pole indicate good weather for flying, according to Norad.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 08:45 , Tara Cobham
Tuesday 24 December 2024 08:34 , Tara Cobham
Santa Claus and his reindeer are set to begin their journey in less than half an hour at the International Date Line.
According to Norad, he will take in Zhangye in China before then setting off to the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 08:00 , Tara Cobham
There is just one hour to go before Santa Claus takes to the skies to begin his journey around the world.
Norad has begun its one-hour countdown, with Santa’s elves seen busily doing last-minute preparations accompanied by Santa-focused Christmas music.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 07:25 , Tara Cobham
There’s nothing more exciting on Christmas Eve than being able to see exactly where Santa Claus and his reindeer are on their one-night journey as he delivers presents across the globe.
For decades, children have been able to track the location of the red-suited man by checking in with the North American Aerospace Defence Command, also known as NORAD.
The tradition began in 1955, when a child mistakenly rang a Colorado military command asking to speak to Father Christmas after a local newspaper ran an advert by a department store containing a misprinted phone number.
My colleague Brittany Miller explains how to track Santa’s journey this Christmas Eve:
Where’s Santa? Here’s how to track his journey this Christmas Eve
Tuesday 24 December 2024 06:59 , Tom Murray
Santa Claus braved the sticky heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend, taking two boats to bring gifts to the children of a small village near the Brazilian city of Manaus.
The visit was arranged by Amigos do Papai Noel, a Brazilian charity that has been taking gifts to children in the Amazon rainforest for the past 26 years.
“For the children of the rivers, the people of the countryside, nothing new happens,” said Raimunda Ferrera Vieira a community leader in the village of Catalao, which received Santa on Saturday. “This here for us was a gift from God.”
More than 600 children from different villages gathered in Catalao to receive presents from Santa, who dressed in his traditional nightcap, white gloves and red suit, while enduring the stifling jungle heat.
Read more:
Santa braves the sticky heat of the Amazon jungle to bring gifts to children
Tuesday 24 December 2024 06:00 , Tom Murray
The tradition began in 1955, when a child mistakenly rang a Colorado military command asking to speak to Father Christmas – after a local newspaper ran an advert by a department store containing a misprinted phone number.
Air Force Commander Harry Shoup, who was manning the phones that Christmas Eve, quickly realised the mistake and assured the child that he was in fact Santa Claus.
As more calls came in that night, Commander Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering the phone, birthing a tradition that passed over to Norad when it was formed in 1958.
Every year since, the agency — which defends and monitors the skies over North America — has fielded children’s questions about the red-and-white-clad chimney intruder and his unrivaled delivery schedule.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 05:02 , Tom Murray
According to Norad, the “only logical conclusion” as to how Santa is able to traverse the globe in one night is that he “somehow functions within his own time-space continuum.”
“NORAD intelligence reports indicate that Santa does not experience time the way we do. His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa, it might last days, weeks, or even months,” the agency stated.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 04:01 , Tom Murray
Tuesday 24 December 2024 03:03 , Tom Murray
Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west.
So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.
“Keep in mind, Santa’s route can be affected by weather, so it’s really unpredictable,” Norad states on its website.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 02:01 , Tom Murray
“NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route,” the military organization’s website states, “which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house. We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep! In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24th. If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later, but only when the children are asleep!”
Tuesday 24 December 2024 01:00 , Tom Murray
Tuesday 24 December 2024 00:02 , The Associated Press
The military’s tradition of tracking Santa Claus on his gravity-defying sweep across the globe will carry on this Christmas Eve, even if the U.S. government shuts down, officials said Friday.
“We fully expect for Santa to take flight on Dec. 24 and NORAD will track him,” the U.S.-Canadian agency said in a statement.
On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats, such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”
The endeavor is supported by local and corporate sponsors, who also help shield the tradition from Washington dysfunction.
Read more:
Is the NORAD Santa tracker safe from a government shutdown?
Monday 23 December 2024 23:01 , Tom Murray
NORAD has an online tracker for children to watch Santa travel across the world in real-time. This year’s website launched on December 1, and it currently shows a village in the North Pole and a countdown to Christmas Eve.
The website will display Santa’s location from 4 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve to 2 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Families can also download NORAD’s Santa Tracker app on both the Apple app store and Google Play store. Those who are interested in calling NORAD can use the phone number 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on December 24 from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Christmas Day ET.
Google will also have its own version of a Santa tracker that will go live on December 24. Similar to NORAD’s tracker, Google has a countdown timer to Christmas Eve and various games available to play before Santa’s map goes live.
Read more:
Where’s Santa? Here’s how to track his journey this Christmas Eve
Monday 23 December 2024 22:37 , Tom Murray
Hello and Happy Christmas! Santa Claus is finally coming to town and we’re ready to watch his journey live as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) once again tracks him on his way around the globe.
It’s T-minus 10 hours until he sets off, so get ready, put some Christmas tunes on and prepare for his departure with us.
