Santa’s magic sleigh soars across the globe as NORAD provides updates

• WISH-TV FACEBOOK: Follow Santa’s sleigh over North America

DENVER, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Santa Claus drove his reindeer-powered sleigh over rooftops around the world on Wednesday, delivering gifts to millions of children in a magic Christmas Eve ritual that North American air defense officials say they began tracking 70 years ago.

Still, despite its devotion to a tradition dating back to the Cold War era of 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, possesses limited intelligence about the direction that Santa will take in any given year.

Santa is not required to file a flight plan. So the only thing NORAD knows for sure in advance is that the red-suited jolly old elf, also known as Kris Kringle or Saint Nicholas, takes off every Christmas Eve from his home base at the North Pole.

“NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where or when he will arrive at your house,” a senior NORAD official said in a press statement.

NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian military command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has provided images and updates on Santa’s worldwide journey for seven decades, along with its main task of monitoring air defenses and issuing aerospace a...