Is Santa real? According to NORAD, absolutely. NORAD, the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization, is responsible for the aerospace defense of the United States and Canada. So you can bet on the fact that when an overweight man in a red suit flying a bunch of reindeer enters the space above North America, they’re the ones who are going to know about it. NORAD even has top of the line, technologically advanced, Santa tracker so that they know exactly where Ol’ Saint Nick is at all times.

NORAD writes:

“Based on historical data and more than 50 years of NORAD tracking information, we believe that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of children throughout the world.”

NORAD has been making use of its high-tech Santa tracker since 1955. The tradition started when Sears Roebuck accidentally misprinted Santa’s number in an advertisement. Excited children who were expecting to reach Mr. Clause at the North Pole were redirected to NORAD (at the time CONAD) where Col. Harry Shoup answered the phone.

And since Shoup was in charge of guarding the airspace around North America, he was well-equipped with the proper Santa knowledge to answer any and all questions from kids around the world.

Retired General Victor Renaurt, Jr., a Former Commander at NORAD, said:

“I have the greatest admiration for Col. Shoup and found delight in his remarkable humor with taking the first-ever call regarding Santa’s whereabouts back in 1955. His kind and thoughtful gesture will forever be a legacy at NORAD, and with the millions of people around the world who follow the NORAD Tracks Santa program each year. Truly, forever in the minds of millions he will be fondly remembered as the “Santa Colonel” and his legend will live on forever.”

After that, the men and women at NORAD became the official hotline for Santa questions. NORAD still answers phone calls and emails from children about Christmas, and in recent years, they’ve brought their Santa Tracker to the internet.

Here’s a video about Santa’s journey in 2010.

The Search Engine Journal has created this infographic about Santa’s history with NORAD.

According to NORAD, Santa’s journey begins in 1 day, 14 hours, and 18 minutes. You can follow Santa on the NORAD website, on Google Maps, or with the embedded live santa tracker below.

Are you going to be using NORAD’s Santa tracker this year?

Santa Tracker 2011: NORAD Knows When Your Presents Are Coming [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

NORAD has been tracking Santa for 55 whole years now, but the past few have seen and even bigger advances in happy fat guy stalking technology.

If you’re Italian-American (or maybe just Italian), you’re probably conscripted to spend Christmas Eve at the home of relatives who are so tech-savvy, they’ve yet to upgrade from a rotary phone that doubles as a bludgeoning device. But equipped with a smartphone, you can track Santa’s movements as he gallivants about the globe hopping down chimneys and snatching yo’ cookies up. You can use Google Earth apps on the iPhone if you’re an iPhone user, but you can also just type m.noradsanta.org into your phone’s browser to get up to the minute Santa info on the go.

Those watching at home can visit noradsanta.org to see where Santa is right now (he’s currently in China!) And social network savvy Santa stalkers can find Rudolph’s current location on Facebook and even Twitter, with updates coming every ten minutes as Santa makes his way across the globe. But you all need to quit being naughty- the 18th most Googled term this hour is “is Santa real?”

Use NORAD and Google Earth to track santa at home or on your smartphone is a post from: The Inquisitr

In 1955 a Colorado Springs newspaper wanted to give children the ability to track Santa Claus by phoning into a special number they had printed. Unfortunately that number was one digit off and ended up routing to the base of Continental Air Defense Command, now known as Norad.

The man who answered those phone calls Col. Harry W. Shoup, decided he didn’t want to disappoint a bunch of children so he played along, from that point on the traditional of Norad Santa Tracker has continued, with volunteers picking up calls and even answering emails as they arrive in the days leading up to Santa’s arrival.

Now the group that monitors U.S. and Canada’s air defenses, monitors the skies for Santa two days out of the year (Santa reaches far off lands that are a day ahead of us, hence the need for two days of tracking).

While Col. Shoup died in March of this year the tradition lives on, children can even track the big man in the red suit by visiting www.noradsanta.org

Enjoy this holiday tradition with your children, they’ll love watching Santa as he nears your home, perhaps it will even get them into bed a little more quickly.

Track Santa Right From Your Computer With Norad Santa Tracker is a post from: The Inquisitr

Where Is Santa Claus: Online Options

If you’re looking for the big guy online, head over to noradsanta.org to see a real-time Santa finder map. You can also catch some videos and photos of his journey across the globe.

(Searching for Santa’s phone number? Check this story for details.)

Google Earth Santa Tracker

Want to see Santa in 3D? Grab the NORAD Tracks Santa utility for Google Earth and you’ll be ready to roll.

You can also add a gadget to your iGoogle home page to keep tabs on Santa’s whereabouts there.

Track Santa on Twitter or Mobile

Add @noradsanta to your Twitter friends to get Santa tracker updates there, or load Google Maps for Mobile onto your cell phone to keep up with him on the go. Just search for “norad santa” within the program to get an update.

Santa Watch: The Video

Here’s a sample of what you might see, taken from Santa’s 2007 trip. Happy holidays!

Santa Tracker 2008: Track Santa with NORAD and Google Earth is a post from: The Inquisitr