Santa tracker: Where is Mr. Claus? Follow his Christmas Eve journey live on NORAD, Google
Santa knows when you're being naughty. He knows when you're nice. And he also knows when you're sleeping so he can come and leave your presents.
But now thanks to Santa trackers, we know exactly where Santa Claus is as he travels around the world delivering presents to children on Christmas Eve.
Both the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Google have live tools to track Santa and see exactly when he will reach the U.S. following Saint Nick's once-a-year journey starting from the North Pole.
Fortunately, Santa will have no trouble entering the U.S. this year, thanks to a transit permit issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The permit, issued to "Mr. S. Nicholas Claus of the North Pole, a distributor with Gifts and Good Cheer, Inc.," will "allow reindeer to enter and exit the U.S." between 6 p.m. on Dec. 24 and 6 a.m. on Dec. 25, local time, through or over any U.S. border or port of entry.
The agriculture department added veterinary officials assessed the health of the reindeer prior to issuing the permit and found them to be "in excellent health, fit for their demanding journey, and ready to prance with holiday cheer.”
Here's what to know about following Santa's around the world trip this year.
How to follow NORAD's Santa tracker 2024
The map tracking Santa's trip around the world will begin Dec. 24, Christmas Eve from NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canada command responsible for protecting the skies over both nations. Visitors can track Santa's flight from 4 a.m. to midnight MST / 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. EST.
USA TODAY will also live stream Santa's journey at 9 a.m. Tuesday. You can watch it below:
Trackers worldwide can also call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on Dec. 24 to ask live operators about Santa's location from 6 a.m. to midnight MST.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website went live on Dec. 1, 2024. It features Santa’s North Pole Village including a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, web store, and more. It is available in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
2024 Google Santa tracker
NORAD is not the only agency or company tracking Santa's journey around the world delivering gifts. Google is also offering its own Santa tracker on its website and corresponding Santa Tracker 2024 app, which will go live on Dec. 24.
Google's Santa tracker website is up and running and is also offering a family guide, quizzes and various Christmas-themed games to play.
Why does NORAD track Santa?
NORAD's long history tracking Santa was born from a mistake in 1955. According to legend, an ad in a Colorado Springs newspaper invited children to call Santa but inadvertently listed the phone number for the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD's predecessor, also based in Colorado Springs.
Officers played along. Since then, NORAD Tracks Santa has gone global, receiving calls from around the world and posting updates on social media for millions of fans, and updating its website following Santa's progress on Christmas Eve.
Hundreds of Canadian and American military personnel and civilians volunteer keep up with Santa. You can visit their website to keep up with Santa, or you can call a volunteer at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado.
Contributing: Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is Santa? Use live trackers to follow St. Nick on Christmas Eve
