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Santa Claus and his reindeer have begun their journey around the globe, with billions of stops to make in less than 24 hours.
Father Christmas is currently steering his sleigh through the Pacific, having already delivered hundreds of millions of gifts.
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.
Santa and his reindeers fly over Russia
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.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 16:31
Santa has reached Tibet!
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.
Alexander Butler24 December 2024 16:15
Thailand is up!
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.
Albert Toth24 December 2024 15:57
Santa heads to Singapore
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.
Albert Toth24 December 2024 15:45
Santa visits Christmas Island
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!
Albert Toth24 December 2024 15:35
Australia gets all of its presents!
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).
Albert Toth24 December 2024 15:30
Santa hits 1.5 billion presents delivered!
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!
Albert Toth24 December 2024 15:16
From China to Brunei – Santa’s hard at work
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.
Albert Toth24 December 2024 15:12
