#Col. Harry Shoup

[historybizarre]

The red phone rang one day in December 1955, and Shoup answered it, Pam says. "And then there was a small voice that just asked, 'Is this Santa Claus?' "

His children remember Shoup as straight-laced and disciplined, and he was annoyed and upset by the call and thought it was a joke — but then, Terri says, the little voice started crying.

[lakelandg]

NORAD Tracks Santa

Like many origin stories, NORAD’s mission to track Santa began by accident. In 1955 a young child, trying to reach Santa, dialed the misprinted phone number from a department store ad in the local newspaper. Instead of calling Santa, the child called the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.   Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the commander on duty that…

[sftsocialnews]

There’s no one busier on Christmas Eve than Santa Claus, and one organization has been tracking his exceptional gift-giving abilities for more than 60 years. This modern tradition actually started in 1955, “when a young child accidentally dialed the unlisted phone number of the (Continental Air Defense Command) Operations Center upon seeing an newspaper advertisement telling kids to call Santa,” according to the bi-national organization North American Aerospace Defense Command. The director of operations at the time, Col. Harry Shoup, “answered the phone and instructed his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole,” the organization says on its website. And so the tracking of Mr. Claus began. It continued when NORAD formed and replaced CONAD in 1958. Since then, NORAD says it has “has dutifully reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families across the globe.” If you’re interested in tracking Santa on Christmas Eve, you can call NORAD at (877) HI-NORAD or follow Santa’s location using NORAD’s Tracks Santa website — that’s the map above — or its social media channels. While NORAD cannot confirm when Santa will be at each house, the organization says it does “know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep!” That means between 9 p.m. and midnight on Christmas Eve in most countries, NORAD adds. “If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses,” the organization notes. “He returns later, but only when the children are asleep!” Contributing: Kurt Snibbe, Southern California News Group #Santa #track #Santa #Christmas #Eve

[taoofbill]

The Santa Tracker Story

Santa & Reindeer vintage greeting card On November 30, 1955, a phone rang on Col. Harry Shoup’s desk at Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). CONAD was tasked with watching for a Soviet attack by air and alerting Strategic Air Command. In the midst of the Cold War, a phone call to Colonel Shoup’s desk could have brought critical news for national security. Col. Harry Shoup was at his office…

[sciencespies]

Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus

https://sciencespies.com/history/why-norad-tracks-santa-claus/

Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus

Smithsonian Voices National Air and Space Museum

Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus

December 21st, 2020, 2:07PM / BY Amelia Grabowski

Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command talks on the phone as part of a video celebrating the NORAD Santa Tracker’s 65th year.

On November 30, 1955, a phone rang on Col. Harry Shoup’s desk at Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). CONAD was tasked with watching for a Soviet attack by air and alerting Strategic Air Command. In the midst of the Cold War, a phone call to Colonel Shoup’s desk could have brought critical news for national security.

Colonel Harry Shoup became known as the “Santa Colonel” due to his role in establishing the tradition of NORAD tracking Santa’s safe flight. (U.S. Air Force)

However, when Colonel Shoup answered, the little voice on the other end asked “Is this Santa Claus?”

“There may be a guy called Santa Claus, at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,” was Shoup’s reply, according to an article that ran the following day. One can only imagine how the young caller reacted.

Why call CONAD to reach Santa? It all started with a misdial. That year, Sears ran an ad where Santa invited young people to “Call me direct on my telephone.” However, one caller didn’t heed the ad’s warning to “be sure and dial the correct number,” and instead reached Colonel Shoup—sparking a chain of events that would become a Christmas tradition.

A 1955 Sears’ ad inviting children to call Santa on his personal phone. (Sears)

The week of Christmas, Shoup’s staff added Santa and his sleigh to the plexiglass map CONAD used to track unidentified aircraft. The joke sparked an idea and CONAD told press they “will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S. against possible attack from those who do not believe in Christmas.”

Journalist Matt Novak of Gizmodo points out that both Shoup and CONAD’s responses were less “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” and more “Yes, Virginia, there is a Cold War.” Their messaging, that CONAD was there to protect Santa against threats, aligned with a larger media campaign focusing on the importance of air defense.

However, the Cold War wasn’t the first time the U.S. military reported seeing Santa. According to Yoni Appelbaum for The Atlantic, during World War II, General Eisenhower issued a press release confirming “a new North Pole Command has been formed … Santa Claus is directing operations … He has under his command a small army of gnomes,” although the censored version cut out the location of Santa’s headquarters. In 1948, the Air Force reported one of their early warning radars had detected “one unidentified sleigh, powered by eight reindeer, at 14,000 feet, heading 180 degrees.”

CONAD would soon set itself apart from these earlier messages of Santa Claus levity. In 1956, one year after Colonel Shoup spoke with the young caller, the Associated Press and United Press International called to ask if Shoup’s team planned to track Santa again, and CONAD confirmed they did. In 1958, the newly established North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) continued—and grew—the tradition.

In the 1960s, NORAD sent records to radio stations with updates on Santa’s path to play for their listeners. The 1970s brought with it Santa Tracker commercials. By 1997, Santa Tracker went digital—launching the website may of our younger readers will be familiar with. (Which has, of course, received some enhancements since then.)

How NORAD tracks Santa has also evolved over the years. Their website explains that they now use a combination of radar, satellites that “detect Rudolph’s bright red nose with no problem,” and jet fighters. “Canadian NORAD fighter pilots, flying the CF-18, take off out of Newfoundland and welcome Santa to North America,” explains NORAD, and in the United States, “American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15s, F16s or F-22s get the thrill of flying with Santa.”

#History

[newstfionline]

A child calling Santa reached NORAD instead. Christmas Eve was never the same.

By Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, December 24, 2018

Col. Harry Shoup was a real by-the-book guy.

At home, his two daughters were limited to phone calls of no more than three minutes (monitored by an egg timer) and were automatically grounded if they missed curfew by even a minute. At work, during his 28-year Air Force career, the decorated fighter pilot was known as a no-nonsense commander and stickler for rules.

Which makes what happened that day in 1955 even more of a Christmas miracle.

It was a December day in Colorado Springs when the phone rang on Col. Shoup’s desk. Not the black phone, the red phone.

“When that phone rang, it was a big deal,” said Shoup’s daughter, Terri Van Keuren, 69, a retiree in Castle Rock, Colo. “It was the middle of the Cold War and that phone meant bad news.”

Shoup was a commander of the Continental Air Defense Command, CONAD, the early iteration of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Then, as now, the joint U.S.-Canadian operation was the tense nerve center of America’s defensive shield against a sneak air attack. In 1955, the command center was filled with a massive map of North America on plexiglass, behind which backward-writing technicians on scaffolds marked every suspect radar blip in grease pencil.

It was not a place of fun and games. And when that red phone rang--it was wired directly to a four-star general at the Pentagon--things got real. All eyes would have been on Shoup when he answered.

“Col. Shoup,” he barked. But there was silence.

Until finally, a small voice said, “Is this Santa Claus?”

Shoup, by all accounts, was briefly confused and then fully annoyed. “Is this a joke?” Glaring at the wide-eyed staff for any sign of a smile, he let the caller have it with all the indignity of a bird-colonel who brooked no nonsense on this most vital of all phone lines.

“Just what do you think you’re doing,” he began.

But then the techno-military might of the United States was brought up short by the sound of sniffles. Whoever was on the phone was crying, and Shoup suddenly realized it really was a child who was trying to reach Santa Claus.

The colonel paused, considered and then responded: “Ho, ho, ho!” he said as his crew looked on astonished. “Of course this is Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?”

He talked to the local youngster for several minutes, hearing his wishes for toys and treats and assuring him he would be there on Christmas Eve. Then the boy asked Santa to bring something nice for his mommy.

“I will, I will,” Santa-Shoup said. “In fact, could I speak to your mommy now?”

The boy put his mother on the phone, and Shoup went back to business, crisply explaining to the woman just what facility their call had reached.

“He said later he thought she must have been a military wife,” said Van Keuren. “She was properly cowed.”

But she also had an explanation. The woman asked Shoup to look at that day’s local newspaper. Specifically, at a Sears ad emblazoned with a big picture of Santa that invited kids to “Call me on my private phone, and I will talk to you personally any time day or night.”

The number provided, ME 2-6681, went right to one of the most secure phones in the country.

“They were off by one digit,” said Van Keuren. “It was a typo.”

When Shoup hung up, the phone rang again. He ordered his staff to answer each Santa call while he got on the (black) phone with AT&T to set up a new link to Washington. Let Sears have the old number, he told them.

That might have been the end of it. But a few nights later, Shoup, as was his tradition, took his family to have Christmas Eve dinner with his on-duty troops. When they walked into the control center, he spotted a little image of a sleigh pulled by eight unregistered reindeer, coming over the top of the world.

Van Keuren was only 6 at the time, but the exchange that followed became stuff of both family and Air Force legend.

“What’s that,” the commanding officer asked.

“Just having a little fun Colonel,” they answered, waiting for the blowup.

Shoup pondered the offense as the team waited. Then he ordered someone to get the community relations officer. And soon Shoup was on the phone to a local radio station. CONAD had picked up unidentified incoming, possible North Pole origin, distinctly sleigh-shaped.

The radio station ate it up, the networks got involved and an enduring tradition was born. This Christmas Eve will mark the 63rd straight year that NORAD will publicly track Santa’s sleigh on its global rounds.

“This is our most feel-good mission,” said Maj. Andrew Hennessy, a Canadian Army officer posted at NORAD headquarters in Colorado. “We know Santa brings lasting joy to kids around the world and we’re glad to have that as our fourth mission one day out of the year.” (On the other 364 days, NORAD’s three-pronged mandate is to oversee air threats, general aerospace control and, in recent years, maritime warnings for potential threats from sea.)

In good military fashion, the Santa tracking command has grown terrifically complex. NORAD deploys satellites, radar, jet fighters and Santa cams to feed its website, apps and social media accounts used by more than 2 million followers. Naughty and nice alike can follow Santa’s movement on 3-D maps in eight languages. Last year, when Alexa was asked “Where’s Santa?” more than 1.5 million times, it was NORAD that fed her the answer.

But the real emotional outlay comes in the Colorado Springs live call center, staffed for 20 hours on Dec. 24 by more than 1,500 volunteers (many of them local service members and their families). With a nine-page Santa Tracker manual in hand, they fielded more than 126,000 calls in 2017.

“As soon as you put the phone down, it rings again,” said Hennessy, who has done duty in the call center. He remembers telling one young Boston caller that Santa had been confirmed over Maine heading south but--and this is a primary NORAD message--the sleigh wouldn’t stop unless the boy was in bed.

“The next thing I heard was the phone hitting the floor,” he said. “Mom picked it up and said, ‘Can I call you back, he’s never done that before.’”

Shoup went on to ever-higher ranks in the Air Force, retiring as a wing commander. When his kids were old enough, he told them why so many of his colleagues called him the “Santa colonel,” but it was a quiet kind of legacy until the 25th anniversary of Santa tracking and TV news crews sought him out.

After that, he looked forward to getting the media calls each December, even carrying special business cards with the story typed on the back. He was buried at 91 in 2009 with a flyover of F-16 fighters, under a gravestone that notes his service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The last line reads: “Santa Colonel.”

“I want his message to be ‘Do the nice thing,’” said Van Keuren. “A lot of people would have hung up on that kid.”

[npr]

NORAD's Santa Tracker Began With A Typo And A Good Sport

This Christmas Eve people all over the world will log on to the official Santa Tracker to follow his progress through U.S. military radar. This all started in 1955, with a misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command, now known as NORAD.

Shoup's children, Terri Van Keuren, 65, Rick Shoup, 59, and Pam Farrell, 70, recently visited StoryCorps to talk about how the tradition began.

Terri remembers her dad had two phones on his desk, including a red one. "Only a four-star general at the Pentagon and my dad had the number," she says.

"This was the '50s, this was the Cold War, and he would have been the first one to know if there was an attack on the United States," Rick says.

The red phone rang one day in December 1955, and Shoup answered it, Pam says. "And then there was a small voice that just asked, 'Is this Santa Claus?' "

Continue reading

Photo: Courtesy of NORAD

[graveyarddirt]

The red phone rang one day in December 1955, and Shoup answered it, Pam says. "And then there was a small voice that just asked, 'Is this Santa Claus?'"

His children remember Shoup as straight-laced and disciplined, and he was annoyed and upset by the call and thought it was a joke — but then, Terri says, the little voice started crying.

"And Dad realized that it wasn't a joke," her sister says. "So he talked to him, ho-ho-ho'd and asked if he had been a good boy and, 'May I talk to your mother?' And the mother got on and said, 'You haven't seen the paper yet? There's a phone number to call Santa. It's in the Sears ad.' Dad looked it up, and there it was, his red phone number. And they had children calling one after another, so he put a couple of airmen on the phones to act like Santa Claus."

[readitonce-official]

Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus | Smithsonian Voices | National Air and Space Museum

Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus | Smithsonian Voices | National Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian Voices National Air and Space Museum Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus December 21st, 2020, 2:07PM / BY Amelia Grabowski Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command talks on the phone as part of a video celebrating the NORAD Santa Tracker’s 65th year. On November 30, 1955, a phone rang on Col. Harry Shoup’s desk at Continental Air…

[bountyofbeads]

#Trump can't even handle a simple call from a 7 year old on #Christmas Eve. #Trump #MAGA #TrumpResign #TrumpShutdown #TrumpChristmasShutdown #25thAmendmentNow #TrumpResignNOW

OPEN MOUTH INSERT FOOT👉👉👉Do you 'still' believe in Santa🎅? #Trump's approach to a child's #Christmas🎄🎅🎁💂‍♂️✨⛄☃️🌟❄️👼🍭☕

The NORAD tradition began in 1955 when an error in an ad sent callers to inquire about Santa🎅 at a military facility in Colorado.

#Trump asks 7-year-old: 'Are you still a believer in Santa🎅?'😱😱😱😞😞😞

By��Phil Helsel / Dec. 24, 2018 / 8:33 PM EST, Updated 7:24 AM EST Dec. 25, 2018 / NBC News / Posted December 25, 2018 /

Most presidents follow a traditional script when answering Christmas Eve calls from children calling NORAD about the whereabouts of Santa Claus. Donald Trump, true to form, did things his own way.

Children who make those calls aren't usually on the fence about their belief in Santa. But when a 7-year-old named Coleman called on Monday night, Trump pushed the child's credulity to the limit.

“Are you still a believer in Santa?” Trump asked. The president listened for a moment and then added, “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?”

History did not record Coleman's response. But something he said apparently amused Trump, who chuckled as he listened. (Thousands of people on social media were less amused, worried that children — presumably under 7 — would have their beliefs punctured by a president who often appears to enjoy shattering illusions.)

As it was, Coleman was lucky to have gotten through, considering that much of the government is shut down because of a dispute between Trump and Congress over his demand for a border wall. But NORAD, short for North American Aerospace Defense Command, tweeted Friday that it would still track Santa's flight across the globe as it has done for more than six decades.

The government went into a partial shutdown at midnight on that day, after Congress failed to reach a stopgap funding deal. The shutdown, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of federal employees being either furloughed or forced to work without immediate pay, could stretch into Thursday or longer.

First lady Melania Trump was heard asking a caller whether they had been good and wishing the child a merry Christmas. She told another child that Santa "is still far away" but was on his way to their home.

She later tweeted that helping children track Santa “is becoming one of my favorite traditions!”

The NORAD Santa tracking tradition began in 1955, when a newspaper printed the incorrect number in an ad and children called the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Col. Harry Shoup was on duty that night, and had operators report the location of Santa to the numerous callers, according to NORAD. The tradition was carried on when CONAD became NORAD after that agency was formed in 1958, the military said.

When Shoup took the first call, he assumed it was from the Pentagon or a general. Instead, he recalled in a interview with NORAD, a child's voice asked: "Are you really Santa Claus?"

[kansascityhappenings]

Santa tracker will still run despite government shutdown

DENVER — The government may be partially shut down, but that won’t stop hundreds of volunteers dressed in Christmas hats and military uniforms Monday from taking calls from children around the world who want to know when Santa will be coming.

The military says the NORAD Tracks Santa won’t be affected by the government shutdown because it is run by volunteers Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado and is funded by the Department of Defense’s budget that was approved earlier this year.

Now in its 63rd year, the Santa tracker became a Christmas Eve tradition after a mistaken phone call to the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1955. CONAD, as it was known, had the serious job of monitoring a far-flung radar network for any sign of a nuclear attack on the United States.

When Col. Harry Shoup picked up the phone that day, he found himself talking not to a military general, but to a child who wanted to speak to Santa Claus. A Colorado Springs newspaper had run an ad inviting kids to call Santa but mistakenly listed the hotline number.

Shoup figured out what had happened and played along. The tradition has since mushroomed into an elaborate operation that attracts tens of thousands of calls every year.

For the 1,500 civilian and military volunteers who will answer the phones for kids calling 1-877-HI-NORAD, it infuses the holiday with childlike wonder.

“They’re all really sweet, small voices,” said Madison Hill, a volunteer who helped answer the phones in two previous years.

“I had a little girl tell me good night instead of goodbye,” she said. “It’s really sweet.”

The North American Aerospace Defense Command — a joint U.S.-Canadian operation based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that protects the skies over both countries — has taken over the Santa tracker since the tradition started. The military command center embraced and expanded the Santa-tracking mission and has been rewarded with a bounty of goodwill and good publicity.

Last year, NORAD Tracks Santa drew 126,000 phone calls, 18 million website hits, 1.8 million followers on Facebook and 179,000 more on Twitter.

It takes 160 phones to handle the calls that pour in. New volunteers get a playbook that briefs them on the questions kids might ask. Big screens on the walls show a Santa icon making blistering progress around the globe. U.S. and Canadian officers do live TV interviews from the phone rooms.

“It really gets you into the Christmas spirit,” said Hill, a student at Mississippi State University who got involved through Air Force family members stationed in Colorado Springs.

“There are Christmas carols in the background, everyone’s very friendly, happy to be there,” she said.

One year, she took a call from a boy who began reading a very long Christmas list. “I remember having to cut him off after the 10th present or so,” she said, explaining to him that she had to take calls from other children.

A girl told Hill she wanted to warn Santa not to bump into a bell hanging on her door. “I think she wanted Santa to be quiet and not wake her up,” Hill said.

Sometimes the volunteers have to handle the unexpected. In 2012, a child from Newtown, Connecticut, asked if Santa could bring extra toys for families who lost children in the mass shooting that year at Sandy Hook Elementary.

“If I can get ahold of him, I’ll try to get the message to him,” replied the volunteer, Sara Berghoff.

NORAD’s commander, Air Force Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, will also take a turn answering the phones Monday.

“This is my first NORAD Tracks Santa,” said O’Shaughnessy, who took command in May. “I’m really excited.”

O’Shaughnessy was even asked about the program during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in April to confirm him as NORAD chief.

“I assume this committee can count on your commitment to continue that venerable tradition,” Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton deadpanned.

“Yes sir, especially since my son Sam would want to see that as well,” O’Shaughnessy replied.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/12/23/santa-tracker-will-still-run-despite-government-shutdown/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/12/23/santa-tracker-will-still-run-despite-government-shutdown/

[healthcaretipsblog]

He's made his list, he's checked it twice, he already knows who's been naughty and nice. That's right: Santa Claus is coming to town – and you can follow him as he makes his way around the world. Every year, the boffins at Norad (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) kindly dedicate December 24th to tracking Father Christmas as he darts from chimney to chimney, country to country, and continent to continent, delivering gifts while voraciously consuming sweetmeats. Their service began by happenstance in 1955, when a Sears ad in a local paper offering the chance to speak to Santa mistakenly printed the top secret phone number of Conad – Norad’s predecessor. US Air Force Col. Harry Shoup took the first call from a young boy wanting to talk to Santa in good humour, and so a Christmas tradition was born. Now, every year, thousands of volunteers staff telephones and computers to answer calls and e-mails from children (and adults) around the world. As of 2007, search engine Google has also provided an online tracker, in partnership with Norad. Join us below to follow Santa's snow-flecked footsteps around the world. And keep your fingers crossed that when he arrives at your house, he'll find your name on the good side of that list ... 12:07AM Santa visits UK!  Father Christmas has visited the UK and delivered his gifts - have you got what you wished for? For all you Santa Trackers in the UK, it looks like #Santa is on his way to your house! How do you like to prepare for Santa’s arrival? Milk and cookies? A hand-written letter? Let us know in the comments! #NORADTracksSantahttps://t.co/gSvRD6ezKo— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   9:48PM Melania Trump: As soon as you go to sleep, Santa will be there More from the White House press pool: First Lady Melania Trump, wearing a red dress and white heels with floral print, spoke quietly into the phone, smiling and nodding as she listened to children on the other line.  “How are you? Merry Christmas. Are you tracking Santa? Do you know where he is right now?” she asked.  She asked them if they made their lists and assured them that Santa is en route: “As soon as you go to sleep, Santa will be there.” She wished the kids and their parents a merry Christmas.  US President Donald J. Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump participate in NORAD Santa Tracker phone calls at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida Credit: AFP   9:43PM Trump: Wishing for a relative to get out of hospital better than asking for some toy According to the White House press pool, the US president engaged with a couple of children: The president was receiving calls both before and after we left.  He told Casper from Virginia (not sure if Casper is a girl or boy): “What would you like more than anything?” [kid responds. Press can’t hear.] Trump: “Building blocks, that’s what I’ve always liked too. I always loved building blocks...well I predict Santa will bring you building blocks, so many you won’t be able to use them all.” He talked to another kid, Brian (unsure of spelling), 5 years old.  “So you want your grandma to get out of the hospital? That’s what your wish is? That’s great. That’s better than asking for some toy or something, that’s much better, right?” “So your grandma’s gonna be good,okay, she’s gonna be good.” Donald and Melania Trump Credit: Getty   9:41PM The Trumps help out Donald and Melania Trump have been manning the phones for NORAD: #NORADTracksSanta’s mission has reached the highest level of government. President Trump and the First Lady are working with NORAD to answer your calls. Call 1-877-HI-NORAD.— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   9:01PM The things we miss about Christmas TV This year’s Christmas programming is all very well but we can’t help hankering for the ghosts of telly past. Michael Hogan details his favourites from  Morecambe & Wise specials to a Bond film on ITV - read the full article. Morecambe & Wise   8:44PM How old is Santa? #Santa last seen in Beira, Mozambique. Did you know that NORAD intelligence indicates Santa is AT LEAST 16 centuries old?? #NORADTracksSanta— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   8:25PM The Acropolis Santa has just done a fly-by of another of the new wonders of the world - the Acropolis in Athens:   7:56PM Santa is on schedule #NORAD confirms #Santa has arrived over Chisinau, Moldova. #Santa reported the weather is clear and his is on schedule— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   7:43PM Santa is in Europe! The Big Man was last spotted in Vilnius, Lithuania. #NORAD confirms #Santa has arrived over Vilnius, Lithuania— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   7:33PM The 'Nanny State' Christmas lunch: Everything you should be eating, according to official advice With a measly portion of turkey, pallid boiled potatoes and just a quarter of a glass of champagne, this is what Christmas dinner might look like if public health guidelines were followed to the letter, Sophie Jamieson writes. Dubbed the "nanny state approved Christmas lunch", the menu to keep you below Public Health England (PHE) recommended calorie intake allows for only a quarter of a pig in blanket, a tenth of a serving of Christmas pudding and a twentieth of a mince pie.  Taxpayers Alliance handout showing a visual representation of a Christmas lunch as approved by the National Health Service's nutritional guidelines PHE guidelines say the average man should keep below 2,500 calories per day. The figure is 2,000 calories for women.  The bleak festive spread was created by the pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance, who say PHE spend £40 million a year telling people how to live healthy lives. Read the full story. 6:57PM The best Christmas TV When you're taking a break from following Santa's journey around the world, here are the best TV offerings this year, including  All Star Musicals and  Mary, Mel and Sue's Big Chistmas Thank You. Dr Who Credit: BBC   6:25PM How does the Santa tracker work? People always ask how #NORAD tracks #Santa on Dec 24th! We use infrared sensors from Rudolph’s nose to determine Santa’s exact location throughout the night! To talk to a NORAD Santa Tracker, call 1-877-HI-NORAD. http://ift.tt/2kT4Z6P (Desktop browsers only)— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   5:44PM Children in Russia - it's time to go to bed! #NORAD Just spotted #Santa over Russia! Children in Russia, it's time to go to bed. #NORADTracksSanta— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   5:43PM How to host a family Christmas... without having a breakdown Do you remember waking up on Christmas day, filled with excitement and joy? Did you jump out of bed and rush downstairs to see if Father Christmas had successfully navigated the chimney/central heating system and delivered that all-important toy on your wish list? Good times. The chances are your first waking moments of Christmas Day are sprinkled with slightly different thoughts these days. Has the turkey finished defrosting? Will the kids like their presents? Is there still time to barricade the house to prevent the in-laws gaining access? Well, worry no longer. Read our guide that answers all you anxiety-ridden prayers. How to have the perfect Christmas   5:16PM Taj Mahal Santa has just visited India - cameras picked him up flying over one of the modern wonders of the world:   4:53PM The Christmas crystal ball Christmas Day is a bit like Groundhog. You wake up, stick the turkey in the oven, placate yourself with an odd concoction of coffee and Bucks Fizz, watch the kids tear open their presents, slave away in the kitchen some more, and finally pass out on the sofa. Tick, there goes another year. Here are the 24 things bound to happen at your big family Christmas tomorrow.  4:42PM Conquering Everest Santa is going to have to tug hard on those reins and get the reindeer flying high. He's coming into Nepal, home to eight of the 10 world's highest peaks, including the tallest Mount Everest. Nepal guess who is coming soon...that’s right����.Time for good boys and girls to get to �� and catch some ��.�� http://pic.twitter.com/7EQUPdofev— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) 24 December 2017 4:36PM Getting through Russia Santa is back working his way through Russia. It's a long, hard slog - Russia takes up an eighth of the Earth's land area - but Santa misses no one out on Christmas Eve. 4:12PM Christmas code-words Are you expecting to welcome friends and relatives tomorrow? Christmas day can be a bit of a war-zone, but everyone just tries to dust their resentment under the carpet because hey it's Christmas, and in the spirit of said holiday, thou shalt lie and deceive rather that tell the truth. If you do actually want to find out what everyone round the dinner table is actually thinking than read this: What people say at Christmas... and what they really mean 4:00PM No holiday on Christmas day in Thailand Santa is now dropping off presents in Thailand. 85 percent of the population in Thailand is Buddhist, and 14 percent practice Islam. As such, Christmas day is not taken as a holiday in Thailand but many lights and decorations still adorn the streets of Thailand's capital Bangkok during the month to celebrate the King's birthday on 5 December. Since the previous king passed away last year though, the celebrated holiday has moved to 28 July. 3:28PM From Saint Nick to Saint Graham Credit:  Christopher Baines/BBC From one jolly bearded fellow to another - read Graham Norton's Christmas special agony uncle column here while you wait for the other one to hurry up with your presents already. 3:19PM The Las Vegas of Asia Santa is about to go over Macau, an autonomous region on the South coast of China dubbed the 'Las Vegas of Asia' because of it's bounty of casinos, and the bustling nightlife. You might want to turn down the light on Rudolph's nose Santa - you're not going to need it to light the way over here. The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel Credit: Kin Cheung/AP   2:52PM What to do after unwrapping the presents? After the presents, there is the turkey, but then how about a winter walk or maybe a film (and none of those slushy romantic ones please)? You could even book yourself into a mindfulness retreat if it's all become too much. We've wracked our brains for a range of activities to try out once Santa has done his job and all the presents have been ripped open.  How to keep the family entertained over Christmas 2:37PM Great wall of China Santa has just crossed over the Great Wall of China, which was built by the Qin dynasty to keep northern invaders out of their territories.  No such problems for Santa - nothing can get in the way of him and his reindeer tonight, they've got presents to deliver. Santa has a great view of the Great Wall #NORADTracksSanta thanks to @verizon for boosting our signal! http://pic.twitter.com/rEpRMxwkZW— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) 24 December 2017 2:20PM 1 billion presents delivered! A congratulations are in order for a certain Mr Claus, who has just dropped off one billion presents this evening. However with 6.6 billion more people still waiting for their pressies, Santa still has a long night ahead of him. 2:16PM Valentine's Day on Christmas Eve Santa is in Japan. Christmas Eve is a big deal for young Japanese couples, who treat the evening as we would do Valentines Day. No one is quite sure why the evening became an event for couples, but pop-star Tatsuro Yamashita’s 1988 song, “Christmas Eve” about the sadness of spending Christmas alone, popularised the romantic ideals of being close to that special someone on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile over here we're just thinking about all the pressies Santa is about to drop off. 2:02PM There's the Sydney Opera House It's flashback time. Here is Santa doing some sightseeing as he flys over some of Sydney's most famous landmarks. #NORAD spotted #Santa flying through Sydney, Australia! See the video! http://ift.tt/2BuqvW2 NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) 24 December 2017 1:54PM Have yourself a very smug Christmas Are you watching Santa scoot around the world safe in the knowledge that all your Christmas day plans are sorted? I bet you're feeling pleased with yourself, and so you should be. However, if you're still flying around frantically trying to tie up all the loose Christmas ends then have a read of our guide to having a smug Christmas, and catch a glimpse of how the other (more organised) half live? How to have a smug Christmas, in ten supremely self-satisfied steps 1:35PM White Christmas? Not in Australia Santa has touched down in Australia. No dreaming of a white Christmas here as it's the height of summer in Australia, with average temperatures of  30C However in 2010 the ssemingly impossible happened as 11 inches of snow fell in New South Wales just a few days before Christmas day. No such luck this year mind. 1:27PM Have you got Christmas dinner covered? While Santa is busy going around the world sorting out the presents, who is sorting out the turkey covered on the big day? We recommend you start your prep for the big Christmas day meal today and save yourself any extra stress on the day. You can prep the vegetables, make the stocks for the gravy and roll up your stuffing balls. Still feeling nervous about cooking Christmas dinner? Take a gander at our ultimate guide to cooking the perfect Christmas dinner. How to cook the perfect Christmas dinner 1:10PM We hope Santa has wrapped up warm Santa is currently flying over the Eastern tip of Russia with the temperature at -17°C. Chilly stuff - so make sure you put some warmed mince pies out on the side for when he eventually comes round to you. 1:02PM Change of Telegraph Christmas Elf That's me done for the year. Over to Richard Jones for more Santa tracking tracking... 12:41PM A peaceful place Santa is currently on his way to the Federated States of Micronesia, population 104,937, which we've previously listed as one of 16 countries that do not have an army. Can you guess the 15 others? 12:13PM The rise of the Christmas Eve box In case you haven't already heard, there's a new Christmas trend in town – and today is the day when it comes to fruition. The Christmas Eve box is a package full of small gifts that kids get to open the night before Christmas. Think of as an early bird's stocking, only without the connotations of mouldy feet. You can find out more about what to put in these boxes (there's still time to cook one up at home – though you'll need to get creative) by reading our useful guide. Ho ho ho, merry Christmas Eve. 11:41AM Q: Why is Rudolph's nose red? A: Because it's hotter than the sun. Here's some science from Norad, on how they use the heat from Rudolph's nose to follow their man... Santa spotted on DSP satellite from the heat off Rudolph's nose! http://ift.tt/2C3iyKJ NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   11:31AM Eyes to the skies He's off! We have our first Santa spotting of Christmas Eve 2017, with Norad reporting that his red sleigh is currently zooming over Russia, en route to New Zealand and Australia.  Now that they've got Santa locked on their radar, you can follow his progress in the video at the top of this article. Godspeed, Santa Claus. 11:31AM Urgent: Presents needed Are you just waking up to the realisation that it's Christmas Eve? Have you hitherto buried your head in the snow, unwilling to even countenance the idea that you might need to buy a semi-random assortment of objects for your friends and loved ones? Does the thought of a last-minute trip to the heaving High Street make you want to heave in an entirely different manner? Then fear not, because we've rounded up some gift subscription ideas that a) will make great presents, and b) can be bought from the comfort of your front room, without so much as the need to put on a pair of pants. Take a look at the below, and heave a sigh of relief. Last-minute Christmas gift guide: how to do all your shopping ... without going to the shops 11:30AM The wait is nearly over Well boys and girls, we're getting close. It seems that Santa is currently doing some last minute quality control. Here's a leaked image from his HQ in Greenland...   11:30AM Santa's journey in numbers Santa will travel an estimated 510,000,000km on Christmas Eve, which means he'll average 10,703,437.5km/hr, or about 1,800 miles per second. According to calculations in 2014, there are roughly 1.85bn children who can hope to receive presents. With an average of 2.5 children per household, that means Santa has to slide down 740m chimneys.  To hit those numbers, Santa needs to visit 390,000 homes per minute – or 6,424 per second. And what of the big guy's expanding waist line? Well, if each house places a 200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk and a mince pie by the fireplace, Santa will make his way throughy 148m litres of milk – enough to fill around 60 Olympic-size swimming pools – and chomp on 740m mince pies. As there are around 250 calories in a mince pie and 100 calories in the glass of milk, that means Santa will consume 259bn calories on Christmas Eve alone. Let's hope his trousers are elasticated. 11:30AM Fake news? A quick word on sources. This time last year, the Santa tracking world was split asunder by an apparent disagreement between the two main tracking organisations. While's Google's tracker reported its first sighting of Santa at 10am GMT, Norad's tracker lagged about 30 minutes behind. And it remained thus for the rest of the day: where one would see Santa arrive in, say, Madrid at 11pm GMT, the other would spot Santa in the same location half an hour later. Little has been said publicly about the confusion since then. The two organisations have apparently closed ranks after the division – leaving online conspiracy theorists to run amok. Are there two Father Christmases, sharing the burden of delivering gifts to every (good) child in the land? Was one tracker detecting an echo in time, the logical consequence of  the vertiginous speeds at which Santa must travel? Had Google picked up a genuine unidentified flying object? No one has the answers to these questions – but suffice to say that if the same happens again this year, we at The Telegraph will treat Norad's tracker as the official timekeeper. No disrespect, Google, but those guys have got the nukes... 11:29AM Why does NORAD track Santa? While we wait for Santa to file all the obligatory flight plans and put the finishing touches on his sleigh packing (we imagine he's much like any father on Christmas Eve right now, desperately pushing another bag of presents into a car boot that's already jammed full), let's take the opportunity to look back on how this Santa tracking business started. The year was 1955, and an advert promoting Santa's Toyland at the Sears department store had been published in the Colorado Springs newspaper, offering excited children the chance to speak to big man himself. The only problem? Rather than listing a dedicated Sears phoneline, the advert referenced a top secret hotline at Conad – Norad’s predecessor. The Sears advert that started it all Over at CONAD, all was calm and well, when US Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, director of operations at the nuclear missile base, noticed the red phone on his desk ringing. Col. Shoup had two phones, and you can imagine what the red one was for. "Only a four-star general at the Pentagon and my dad had the number," recalled his daughter Pam. Presumably fearing the worst, Col. Shoup picked up the receiver. Pam continues: "And then there was a small voice that just asked, 'Is this Santa Claus?'" Shoup was a straight-laced and disciplined man – much as you would expect for the director of operations at the US's nuclear HQ – and he reacted with due annoyance, suspecting he was the victim of a practical joke. But then the little voice started crying. "And Dad realised that it wasn't a joke," says Shoup's daughter. "So he talked to him, ho-ho-ho'd and asked if he had been a good boy and, 'May I talk to your mother?' And the mother got on and said, 'You haven't seen the paper yet? "'There's a phone number to call Santa. It's in the Sears ad.'" Shoup took the reins and ran with them. Soon, he was on local radio every hour, updating listeners on the whereabouts of an unidentified flying object that had the unmistakable look of a sleigh. From one small mistake, a tradition was born. Every year hence, the nuclear has run a Christmas Eve hotline for children, updating them on the whereabouts of the Great Benefactor In The Sky. The Norad Santa Tracking Operation HQ, in 2014 Over the years, Conad/Norad and Santa have proved to be a perfect fit. After all, who better to spot where Santa's sleigh is flying than a major operation dedicated to monitoring the skies? And what better way for the joint US-Canadian military division – men and women who routinely spent their time checking radar screens for signs of impending nuclear apocalypse – to spend their down time than talking to children about what they wanted for Christmas? In 2007, Norad partnered with Google to put the Santa tracking ritual online, and now children around the world can follow Santa's snow-flecked footsteps as he delivers presents during the night before Christmas. With the help of our live blog, of course. 11:29AM Good morning... ... and welcome to The Telegraph's Christmas Eve live blog, where we'll be tracking the movements of good ol' Santa (that's Father Christmas or even St. Nick to you and I) as he dashes around the world, delivering gifts and joy to all those children who have been well behaved over the course of the last 12 months. According to (un)official estimates, there's a while to go before Santa starts doing his thing. So, put the kettle on, get some breakfast inside you, fish out those dusty binoculars from wherever you left them this time last year, and get ready to join us for the ride.

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[morningusa]

He's made his list, he's checked it twice, he already knows who's been naughty and nice. That's right: Santa Claus is coming to town – and you can follow him as he makes his way around the world. Every year, the boffins at Norad (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) kindly dedicate December 24th to tracking Father Christmas as he darts from chimney to chimney, country to country, and continent to continent, delivering gifts while voraciously consuming sweetmeats. Their service began by happenstance in 1955, when a Sears ad in a local paper offering the chance to speak to Santa mistakenly printed the top secret phone number of Conad – Norad’s predecessor. US Air Force Col. Harry Shoup took the first call from a young boy wanting to talk to Santa in good humour, and so a Christmas tradition was born. Now, every year, thousands of volunteers staff telephones and computers to answer calls and e-mails from children (and adults) around the world. As of 2007, search engine Google has also provided an online tracker, in partnership with Norad. Join us below to follow Santa's snow-flecked footsteps around the world. And keep your fingers crossed that when he arrives at your house, he'll find your name on the good side of that list ... 12:07AM Santa visits UK!  Father Christmas has visited the UK and delivered his gifts - have you got what you wished for? For all you Santa Trackers in the UK, it looks like #Santa is on his way to your house! How do you like to prepare for Santa’s arrival? Milk and cookies? A hand-written letter? Let us know in the comments! #NORADTracksSantahttps://t.co/gSvRD6ezKo— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   9:48PM Melania Trump: As soon as you go to sleep, Santa will be there More from the White House press pool: First Lady Melania Trump, wearing a red dress and white heels with floral print, spoke quietly into the phone, smiling and nodding as she listened to children on the other line.  “How are you? Merry Christmas. Are you tracking Santa? Do you know where he is right now?” she asked.  She asked them if they made their lists and assured them that Santa is en route: “As soon as you go to sleep, Santa will be there.” She wished the kids and their parents a merry Christmas.  US President Donald J. Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump participate in NORAD Santa Tracker phone calls at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida Credit: AFP   9:43PM Trump: Wishing for a relative to get out of hospital better than asking for some toy According to the White House press pool, the US president engaged with a couple of children: The president was receiving calls both before and after we left.  He told Casper from Virginia (not sure if Casper is a girl or boy): “What would you like more than anything?” [kid responds. Press can’t hear.] Trump: “Building blocks, that’s what I’ve always liked too. I always loved building blocks...well I predict Santa will bring you building blocks, so many you won’t be able to use them all.” He talked to another kid, Brian (unsure of spelling), 5 years old.  “So you want your grandma to get out of the hospital? That’s what your wish is? That’s great. That’s better than asking for some toy or something, that’s much better, right?” “So your grandma’s gonna be good,okay, she’s gonna be good.” Donald and Melania Trump Credit: Getty   9:41PM The Trumps help out Donald and Melania Trump have been manning the phones for NORAD: #NORADTracksSanta’s mission has reached the highest level of government. President Trump and the First Lady are working with NORAD to answer your calls. Call 1-877-HI-NORAD.— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   9:01PM The things we miss about Christmas TV This year’s Christmas programming is all very well but we can’t help hankering for the ghosts of telly past. Michael Hogan details his favourites from  Morecambe & Wise specials to a Bond film on ITV - read the full article. Morecambe & Wise   8:44PM How old is Santa? #Santa last seen in Beira, Mozambique. Did you know that NORAD intelligence indicates Santa is AT LEAST 16 centuries old?? #NORADTracksSanta— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   8:25PM The Acropolis Santa has just done a fly-by of another of the new wonders of the world - the Acropolis in Athens:   7:56PM Santa is on schedule #NORAD confirms #Santa has arrived over Chisinau, Moldova. #Santa reported the weather is clear and his is on schedule— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   7:43PM Santa is in Europe! The Big Man was last spotted in Vilnius, Lithuania. #NORAD confirms #Santa has arrived over Vilnius, Lithuania— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   7:33PM The 'Nanny State' Christmas lunch: Everything you should be eating, according to official advice With a measly portion of turkey, pallid boiled potatoes and just a quarter of a glass of champagne, this is what Christmas dinner might look like if public health guidelines were followed to the letter, Sophie Jamieson writes. Dubbed the "nanny state approved Christmas lunch", the menu to keep you below Public Health England (PHE) recommended calorie intake allows for only a quarter of a pig in blanket, a tenth of a serving of Christmas pudding and a twentieth of a mince pie.  Taxpayers Alliance handout showing a visual representation of a Christmas lunch as approved by the National Health Service's nutritional guidelines PHE guidelines say the average man should keep below 2,500 calories per day. The figure is 2,000 calories for women.  The bleak festive spread was created by the pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance, who say PHE spend £40 million a year telling people how to live healthy lives. Read the full story. 6:57PM The best Christmas TV When you're taking a break from following Santa's journey around the world, here are the best TV offerings this year, including  All Star Musicals and  Mary, Mel and Sue's Big Chistmas Thank You. Dr Who Credit: BBC   6:25PM How does the Santa tracker work? People always ask how #NORAD tracks #Santa on Dec 24th! We use infrared sensors from Rudolph’s nose to determine Santa’s exact location throughout the night! To talk to a NORAD Santa Tracker, call 1-877-HI-NORAD. http://ift.tt/2kT4Z6P (Desktop browsers only)— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   5:44PM Children in Russia - it's time to go to bed! #NORAD Just spotted #Santa over Russia! Children in Russia, it's time to go to bed. #NORADTracksSanta— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   5:43PM How to host a family Christmas... without having a breakdown Do you remember waking up on Christmas day, filled with excitement and joy? Did you jump out of bed and rush downstairs to see if Father Christmas had successfully navigated the chimney/central heating system and delivered that all-important toy on your wish list? Good times. The chances are your first waking moments of Christmas Day are sprinkled with slightly different thoughts these days. Has the turkey finished defrosting? Will the kids like their presents? Is there still time to barricade the house to prevent the in-laws gaining access? Well, worry no longer. Read our guide that answers all you anxiety-ridden prayers. How to have the perfect Christmas   5:16PM Taj Mahal Santa has just visited India - cameras picked him up flying over one of the modern wonders of the world:   4:53PM The Christmas crystal ball Christmas Day is a bit like Groundhog. You wake up, stick the turkey in the oven, placate yourself with an odd concoction of coffee and Bucks Fizz, watch the kids tear open their presents, slave away in the kitchen some more, and finally pass out on the sofa. Tick, there goes another year. Here are the 24 things bound to happen at your big family Christmas tomorrow.  4:42PM Conquering Everest Santa is going to have to tug hard on those reins and get the reindeer flying high. He's coming into Nepal, home to eight of the 10 world's highest peaks, including the tallest Mount Everest. Nepal guess who is coming soon...that’s right����.Time for good boys and girls to get to �� and catch some ��.�� http://pic.twitter.com/7EQUPdofev— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) 24 December 2017 4:36PM Getting through Russia Santa is back working his way through Russia. It's a long, hard slog - Russia takes up an eighth of the Earth's land area - but Santa misses no one out on Christmas Eve. 4:12PM Christmas code-words Are you expecting to welcome friends and relatives tomorrow? Christmas day can be a bit of a war-zone, but everyone just tries to dust their resentment under the carpet because hey it's Christmas, and in the spirit of said holiday, thou shalt lie and deceive rather that tell the truth. If you do actually want to find out what everyone round the dinner table is actually thinking than read this: What people say at Christmas... and what they really mean 4:00PM No holiday on Christmas day in Thailand Santa is now dropping off presents in Thailand. 85 percent of the population in Thailand is Buddhist, and 14 percent practice Islam. As such, Christmas day is not taken as a holiday in Thailand but many lights and decorations still adorn the streets of Thailand's capital Bangkok during the month to celebrate the King's birthday on 5 December. Since the previous king passed away last year though, the celebrated holiday has moved to 28 July. 3:28PM From Saint Nick to Saint Graham Credit:  Christopher Baines/BBC From one jolly bearded fellow to another - read Graham Norton's Christmas special agony uncle column here while you wait for the other one to hurry up with your presents already. 3:19PM The Las Vegas of Asia Santa is about to go over Macau, an autonomous region on the South coast of China dubbed the 'Las Vegas of Asia' because of it's bounty of casinos, and the bustling nightlife. You might want to turn down the light on Rudolph's nose Santa - you're not going to need it to light the way over here. The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel Credit: Kin Cheung/AP   2:52PM What to do after unwrapping the presents? After the presents, there is the turkey, but then how about a winter walk or maybe a film (and none of those slushy romantic ones please)? You could even book yourself into a mindfulness retreat if it's all become too much. We've wracked our brains for a range of activities to try out once Santa has done his job and all the presents have been ripped open.  How to keep the family entertained over Christmas 2:37PM Great wall of China Santa has just crossed over the Great Wall of China, which was built by the Qin dynasty to keep northern invaders out of their territories.  No such problems for Santa - nothing can get in the way of him and his reindeer tonight, they've got presents to deliver. Santa has a great view of the Great Wall #NORADTracksSanta thanks to @verizon for boosting our signal! http://pic.twitter.com/rEpRMxwkZW— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) 24 December 2017 2:20PM 1 billion presents delivered! A congratulations are in order for a certain Mr Claus, who has just dropped off one billion presents this evening. However with 6.6 billion more people still waiting for their pressies, Santa still has a long night ahead of him. 2:16PM Valentine's Day on Christmas Eve Santa is in Japan. Christmas Eve is a big deal for young Japanese couples, who treat the evening as we would do Valentines Day. No one is quite sure why the evening became an event for couples, but pop-star Tatsuro Yamashita’s 1988 song, “Christmas Eve” about the sadness of spending Christmas alone, popularised the romantic ideals of being close to that special someone on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile over here we're just thinking about all the pressies Santa is about to drop off. 2:02PM There's the Sydney Opera House It's flashback time. Here is Santa doing some sightseeing as he flys over some of Sydney's most famous landmarks. #NORAD spotted #Santa flying through Sydney, Australia! See the video! http://ift.tt/2BuqvW2 NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) 24 December 2017 1:54PM Have yourself a very smug Christmas Are you watching Santa scoot around the world safe in the knowledge that all your Christmas day plans are sorted? I bet you're feeling pleased with yourself, and so you should be. However, if you're still flying around frantically trying to tie up all the loose Christmas ends then have a read of our guide to having a smug Christmas, and catch a glimpse of how the other (more organised) half live? How to have a smug Christmas, in ten supremely self-satisfied steps 1:35PM White Christmas? Not in Australia Santa has touched down in Australia. No dreaming of a white Christmas here as it's the height of summer in Australia, with average temperatures of  30C However in 2010 the ssemingly impossible happened as 11 inches of snow fell in New South Wales just a few days before Christmas day. No such luck this year mind. 1:27PM Have you got Christmas dinner covered? While Santa is busy going around the world sorting out the presents, who is sorting out the turkey covered on the big day? We recommend you start your prep for the big Christmas day meal today and save yourself any extra stress on the day. You can prep the vegetables, make the stocks for the gravy and roll up your stuffing balls. Still feeling nervous about cooking Christmas dinner? Take a gander at our ultimate guide to cooking the perfect Christmas dinner. How to cook the perfect Christmas dinner 1:10PM We hope Santa has wrapped up warm Santa is currently flying over the Eastern tip of Russia with the temperature at -17°C. Chilly stuff - so make sure you put some warmed mince pies out on the side for when he eventually comes round to you. 1:02PM Change of Telegraph Christmas Elf That's me done for the year. Over to Richard Jones for more Santa tracking tracking... 12:41PM A peaceful place Santa is currently on his way to the Federated States of Micronesia, population 104,937, which we've previously listed as one of 16 countries that do not have an army. Can you guess the 15 others? 12:13PM The rise of the Christmas Eve box In case you haven't already heard, there's a new Christmas trend in town – and today is the day when it comes to fruition. The Christmas Eve box is a package full of small gifts that kids get to open the night before Christmas. Think of as an early bird's stocking, only without the connotations of mouldy feet. You can find out more about what to put in these boxes (there's still time to cook one up at home – though you'll need to get creative) by reading our useful guide. Ho ho ho, merry Christmas Eve. 11:41AM Q: Why is Rudolph's nose red? A: Because it's hotter than the sun. Here's some science from Norad, on how they use the heat from Rudolph's nose to follow their man... Santa spotted on DSP satellite from the heat off Rudolph's nose! http://ift.tt/2C3iyKJ NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 24, 2017   11:31AM Eyes to the skies He's off! We have our first Santa spotting of Christmas Eve 2017, with Norad reporting that his red sleigh is currently zooming over Russia, en route to New Zealand and Australia.  Now that they've got Santa locked on their radar, you can follow his progress in the video at the top of this article. Godspeed, Santa Claus. 11:31AM Urgent: Presents needed Are you just waking up to the realisation that it's Christmas Eve? Have you hitherto buried your head in the snow, unwilling to even countenance the idea that you might need to buy a semi-random assortment of objects for your friends and loved ones? Does the thought of a last-minute trip to the heaving High Street make you want to heave in an entirely different manner? Then fear not, because we've rounded up some gift subscription ideas that a) will make great presents, and b) can be bought from the comfort of your front room, without so much as the need to put on a pair of pants. Take a look at the below, and heave a sigh of relief. Last-minute Christmas gift guide: how to do all your shopping ... without going to the shops 11:30AM The wait is nearly over Well boys and girls, we're getting close. It seems that Santa is currently doing some last minute quality control. Here's a leaked image from his HQ in Greenland...   11:30AM Santa's journey in numbers Santa will travel an estimated 510,000,000km on Christmas Eve, which means he'll average 10,703,437.5km/hr, or about 1,800 miles per second. According to calculations in 2014, there are roughly 1.85bn children who can hope to receive presents. With an average of 2.5 children per household, that means Santa has to slide down 740m chimneys.  To hit those numbers, Santa needs to visit 390,000 homes per minute – or 6,424 per second. And what of the big guy's expanding waist line? Well, if each house places a 200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk and a mince pie by the fireplace, Santa will make his way throughy 148m litres of milk – enough to fill around 60 Olympic-size swimming pools – and chomp on 740m mince pies. As there are around 250 calories in a mince pie and 100 calories in the glass of milk, that means Santa will consume 259bn calories on Christmas Eve alone. Let's hope his trousers are elasticated. 11:30AM Fake news? A quick word on sources. This time last year, the Santa tracking world was split asunder by an apparent disagreement between the two main tracking organisations. While's Google's tracker reported its first sighting of Santa at 10am GMT, Norad's tracker lagged about 30 minutes behind. And it remained thus for the rest of the day: where one would see Santa arrive in, say, Madrid at 11pm GMT, the other would spot Santa in the same location half an hour later. Little has been said publicly about the confusion since then. The two organisations have apparently closed ranks after the division – leaving online conspiracy theorists to run amok. Are there two Father Christmases, sharing the burden of delivering gifts to every (good) child in the land? Was one tracker detecting an echo in time, the logical consequence of  the vertiginous speeds at which Santa must travel? Had Google picked up a genuine unidentified flying object? No one has the answers to these questions – but suffice to say that if the same happens again this year, we at The Telegraph will treat Norad's tracker as the official timekeeper. No disrespect, Google, but those guys have got the nukes... 11:29AM Why does NORAD track Santa? While we wait for Santa to file all the obligatory flight plans and put the finishing touches on his sleigh packing (we imagine he's much like any father on Christmas Eve right now, desperately pushing another bag of presents into a car boot that's already jammed full), let's take the opportunity to look back on how this Santa tracking business started. The year was 1955, and an advert promoting Santa's Toyland at the Sears department store had been published in the Colorado Springs newspaper, offering excited children the chance to speak to big man himself. The only problem? Rather than listing a dedicated Sears phoneline, the advert referenced a top secret hotline at Conad – Norad’s predecessor. The Sears advert that started it all Over at CONAD, all was calm and well, when US Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, director of operations at the nuclear missile base, noticed the red phone on his desk ringing. Col. Shoup had two phones, and you can imagine what the red one was for. "Only a four-star general at the Pentagon and my dad had the number," recalled his daughter Pam. Presumably fearing the worst, Col. Shoup picked up the receiver. Pam continues: "And then there was a small voice that just asked, 'Is this Santa Claus?'" Shoup was a straight-laced and disciplined man – much as you would expect for the director of operations at the US's nuclear HQ – and he reacted with due annoyance, suspecting he was the victim of a practical joke. But then the little voice started crying. "And Dad realised that it wasn't a joke," says Shoup's daughter. "So he talked to him, ho-ho-ho'd and asked if he had been a good boy and, 'May I talk to your mother?' And the mother got on and said, 'You haven't seen the paper yet? "'There's a phone number to call Santa. It's in the Sears ad.'" Shoup took the reins and ran with them. Soon, he was on local radio every hour, updating listeners on the whereabouts of an unidentified flying object that had the unmistakable look of a sleigh. From one small mistake, a tradition was born. Every year hence, the nuclear has run a Christmas Eve hotline for children, updating them on the whereabouts of the Great Benefactor In The Sky. The Norad Santa Tracking Operation HQ, in 2014 Over the years, Conad/Norad and Santa have proved to be a perfect fit. After all, who better to spot where Santa's sleigh is flying than a major operation dedicated to monitoring the skies? And what better way for the joint US-Canadian military division – men and women who routinely spent their time checking radar screens for signs of impending nuclear apocalypse – to spend their down time than talking to children about what they wanted for Christmas? In 2007, Norad partnered with Google to put the Santa tracking ritual online, and now children around the world can follow Santa's snow-flecked footsteps as he delivers presents during the night before Christmas. With the help of our live blog, of course. 11:29AM Good morning... ... and welcome to The Telegraph's Christmas Eve live blog, where we'll be tracking the movements of good ol' Santa (that's Father Christmas or even St. Nick to you and I) as he dashes around the world, delivering gifts and joy to all those children who have been well behaved over the course of the last 12 months. According to (un)official estimates, there's a while to go before Santa starts doing his thing. So, put the kettle on, get some breakfast inside you, fish out those dusty binoculars from wherever you left them this time last year, and get ready to join us for the ride.

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