This Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will have tracked Santa Claus’s journey around the world for 70 years. ​Colonel Harry Shoup began the tradition in 1955 after receiving a phone call from a child expecting to reach Santa Claus. Colonel Shoup ran with the idea and began releasing updates on Santa’s whereabouts to the press. ​In 1974, NORAD released film footage, now part of the National Archives Moving Image and Sound holdings, to television stations to show

U.S. National Archives on Instagram: "This Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will have tracked Santa Claus’s journey around the world for 70 years. ​Colonel Harry Shoup began the tradition in 1955 after receiving a phone call from a child expecting to reach Santa Claus. Colonel Shoup ran with the idea and began releasing updates on Santa’s whereabouts to the press. ​In 1974, NORAD released film footage, now part of the National Archives Moving Image and Sound ho