WASHINGTON – Santa Claus will be heading off on another trip around the world to deliver presents this year, and once again you can keep a close eye on where jolly old Santa is on his journey.

NORAD will track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve through Christmas Day, just as they have done for nearly seven decades. NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, normally focuses on homeland security matters, but since 1955 it has dutifully taken on the task of tracking down Santa Claus.

According to NORAD’s Santa Tracker, a total of 7,883,693,263 gifts were delivered last year.

While the Santa Tracker website has been live for several weeks, the real show begins on the morning of Christmas Eve. Starting at approximately 4 a.m. East Coast on December 24th, NORAD will begin tracking Santa Claus with updates from around the world until midnight, Mountain Time.

Click here to visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

Callers can also dial in throughout the day to find out where Santa is on his journey. From 6 a.m. to midnight (Mountain Time), people can call live agents at 1-877-HI-NORAD for Santa’s location.

The military’s tradition of tracking down Santa Claus will continue even if the U.S. government suspends operations, officials confirmed Friday.

The operation is supported by local and corporate sponsors who also help protect the tradition from dysfunction in Washington.

The military command has been answering calls since 1955, when Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the duty commander at NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command — answered a call from a child who dialed a misprinted phone number in a newspaper department store ad because she thought she was calling Santa Claus.

A quick-thinking Shoup quickly assured his caller that it was him. And the tradition began.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden also took part in the tradition and answered calls to the Santa Claus tracking service. It’s a long-standing tradition for first ladies, but the president also joined in 2021.

Today, most early calls come from Japan and Europe, and as the day progresses, more and more calls come from the US and Canada.

In addition to the phone center and online site, Amazon Alexa users will be able to ask for Santa’s location using the NORAD Tracks Santa skill on December 24th.

NORAD’s mission is to monitor the skies over North America for possible threats. Early on Christmas Eve, the Santa Claus operation begins when a group of radar stations in northern Canada and Alaska pick up an infrared signature emanating from Rudolph’s nose. NORAD’s geostationary satellites above Earth monitor the journey.

“We have the guard,” is the motto of NORAD’s military mission.

And when it comes to Santa Claus, NORAD adds:

“Santa Claus calls the shots. We’ll just pursue him.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.