Where is Santa? Follow St. Nick with NORAD’s Santa tracker

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Santa and his reindeer-powered sleigh traveling across the world. (Courtesy: NORAD)

It’s Christmastime. And that means Santa Claus is coming to town.

Santa is making his annual trip around the world to deliver presents. It’s time for a holiday tradition: tracking Santa.

The best way to follow ol’ St. Nick’s journey is with NORAD’s official Santa tracker. Since 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has used its global tracking systems to follow Santa on his Christmas trip.

"This Christmas season marks seven decades of the North American Aerospace Defense Command tracking Santa Claus on radar as he flies his reindeer-powered sleigh around the globe," the U.S. Department of War said in a release.

NORAD’s Santa tracker went live at 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve. The tracker is available in 9 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean.

Where does Santa start his journey?

Santa will begin his trip around the world at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, according to NORAD. He stops in the South Pacific first, followed by New Zealand and Australia, before making his way to other parts of the globe.

Santa usually arrives in most countries between 9 p.m. and midnight (local time) on Christmas Eve.

Where is Santa now?

The NORAD tracker will show Santa’s current location and where he’s headed next.

You can also see how many gifts he’s delivered so far on his Christmas flight.

People can also call NORAD’s Santa Operations Center at 877-446-6723 to talk directly with a Santa tracker, who will tell callers Santa’s current location.

Santa and his reindeer-powered sleigh traveling across the world. (Courtesy: NORAD)

Why does NORAD track Santa?

The tradition of tracking Santa began by accident.

As the story goes, a child accidentally called the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center instead of Santa after dialing a misprinted number from a department store ad.

Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, who was the commander on duty, answered the call. He quickly realized the child’s mistake and played along, and thus, the tradition was born. The tradition continued when NORAD was formed in 1958.