Track Santa Live as He Travels the Globe

NORAD provides minute-by-minute tracking of Santa Claus.

ByABC News
December 24, 2010, 11:26 AM

Dec. 24, 2010— -- Long before the Wright brothers' first flight or before the first hot air balloon took to the skies, a jolly fat man known as Santa zipped around the globe on a reindeer-driven sleigh.

To deliver gifts to millions of children around the globe, Santa must travel at lightning-fast speeds. For generations, nobody knew how Santa did it all except that when children woke there were gifts under the tree and the milk and cookies were gone. Today, the military has sophisticated radar systems that are able to track Saint Nick as he makes the trip from the North Pole, giving us all a peek into his magic.

NORAD Tracks Santa provides minute-by-minute updates of Santa, where he is now and where he's going next. There's even video of Santa flying over the globe. Earlier this morning, people tuning in could see him -- and Rudolf's blazing red nose -- flying over the Great Wall of China. Another video shows him flying over Sydney and its famous opera house.

For those without internet access, don't fret. NORAD has a toll-free phone number where a live person will actually tell you were Santa is. Just call 1-877-HI-NORAD (446-6723) and one of the staffers there will provide updates.

And those with smartphones can open Google Maps for mobile and do a search for "Santa" to see his latest location.

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Earlier this morning, Santa was spotted over Japan then South Korea, North Korea, Russia, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.