newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Technology has certainly put a new wrinkle into following the flight of Santa Claus. NORAD Santa Tracker 2010 is back to track Santa Claus all across the world on Christmas Eve. Children and adults alike can have fun finding out just where Santa is in the world dropping off presents to all the good boys and girls.

For 55 years, those good folks at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, have been following Santa Claus on his journey around the world. This year will be no different, except that now Santa will have even more followers trailing his every move via satellite.

NORAD's Santa Tracker website went live with Santa coverage starting at 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve, December 24.

According to popfi.com, all of the methods used to track Santa last year will be in operation again this year, including Twitter, Facebook, Google Earth, and more. They've actually added features this year, including a SantaCam to get live images of the city Santa visits. For those not online, you can still dial NORAD's Santa hotline at 1-877-HI-NORAD for your Santa updates. Also joining the fun will be General Motors, whose OnStar service will also be featuring a Santa Tracker. You simply press your OnStar button and ask for a Santa Update.

NORAD Santa Tracker Official Site

Noradsanta.org reports the Santa tracking tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, beginning a tradition.

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then carried on the tradition of tracking Santa.

NORAD's web site also has activities to keep kids busy. Kids can click on different spots in Santa's village to play interactive games.

Timesherald.com reports Google has also set up www.sendacallfromsanta.com, where you request a personalized call from Santa. Type in your name, the recipient's name and your relationship to the recipient; the child's location (either select the city, state or country), and indicate details including a gift he or she wants, a food he likes or a nickname to call her. When you're finished entering the necessary information you're able to review the message.

Santa will be using Google Voice to make his calls, but it is not necessary to have a Google Voice account to use the free Santa message service.

But Santa reports it is quite necessary to believe.