COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Ever wonder why NORAD tracks Santa every Christmas Eve?
Turns out, the whole thing started by accident. In 1955, the folks at what’s now known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado were working a typical night shift when Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, received a phone call from a child.
The boy had dialed a phone number he saw in a newspaper ad, promising he’d reach Santa directly. But the number was wrong, and instead he reached the military. Shoup was no scrooge, and entertained all the calls from kids that night, beginning a new tradition.
The NORAD Tracks Santa call center opens at 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve with the correct number being 877-HI-NORAD.
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