Ready... set... track Santa!

The first weekend of summer, and the countdown to Christmas is on! Prawns, barbies, cricket and long hot days must make Santa’s blizzard hazards seem a long way away.

It’s true it’s a long way to Australia from the North Pole -- but this year, like every year since 1955, NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) will be counting down to Christmas and tracking Santa’s whereabouts as he delivers presents around the world.

Google similarly started tracking Santa in 2004 and has been partnering with NORAD on this project since 2007. Keeping the tradition alive, this year’s countdown has begun at www.noradsanta.org. On the NORAD website, kids can play holiday-themed games (a new one is released each day) and get updates from the North Pole as Santa prepares for his big sleigh ride.

If you haven’t tracked Santa in years past, we hope this is the year you’ll start a new tradition of visiting www.noradsanta.org and following Santa’s journey all around the world. Starting in the early hours of Christmas Day, you’ll be able to track him in real-time on Google Maps from your computer or phone as well as on Google Earth with the plug-in by searching for [santa].

So this year, along with my family’s usual tradition of gathering around to hear my mum read “Twas the night before Christmas,” we’ll gather around the computer to see when Santa might be coming to our neighborhood. In honour of the occasion, I wrote a new opening verse:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and Santa was near
According to NORAD, he would soon be right here
So we hopped into bed and dreamt of new toys
And awoke in the morning to much Christmas joy

Happy holidays to all -- enjoy your summer downunder -- and to tide you over till Christmas, enjoy this video with highlights from Santa’s journey last year!



Posted by Bruno Bowden, Software Engineer