On the trail of Santa Claus distribution of gifts in

On the trail of Santa Claus: distribution of gifts in real time thanks to NORAD –

The countdown has begun: in less than a day, Santa Claus will begin his journey around the world and, to everyone's delight, it will be possible to follow his journey on the Internet.

“This is my favorite thing to do on Christmas Eve!” said Clark, the 5-year-old son of a Department of Defense employee.

This is the 68th year that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has followed in the footsteps of Santa Claus as he distributes gifts to children around the world on December 24th.

“NORAD defends North America with complementary, cross-domain defense capabilities, including military aircraft, radar and satellites. These capabilities and resources also enable NORAD to accompany Santa Claus as he crosses Canada and the United States on December 24th. When we meet Santa Claus, it is always a friendly occasion: Santa Claus smiles and greets us,” Defense Secretary Bill Blair said in a press release.

From countdowns to Christmas music, the NORAD Santa Trail website offers a wide range of activities, all available in nine languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean. It is therefore possible to follow Santa Claus from December 24th at 6 a.m. to December 25th at 2 a.m. on the website and in the NORAD Tracks Santa application, but also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X.

Children and their parents can also find out Santa's location by calling 1-877-HI-NORAD between 8 a.m. Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday.

“I called my brother last year. It was fun to hear news from Santa before he came to our house. Other children should do this too!” said Sophie, 9, daughter of an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces.