NORTH POLE (KXXV) — The tradition of tracking Santa started in 1955 after a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement featured the wrong telephone number for children to call Santa.
The number actually connected callers to the CONAD (predecessor to NORAD) Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline."
Colonel Harry Shoup told his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Young callers were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.
You can track Santa along with NORAD by clicking here.
