The Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) - a joint unit between the US and Canadian airspace defense forces tasked with monitoring the skies over North America for objects ranging from satellites to nuclear missiles - will once again partake in the peculiar mission of "tracking" Santa Claus for a 68th year in a row.

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(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

How NORAD Came About Tracking Santa

According to its website, NORAD began tracking Jolly Old St. Nick every Christmas Eve since 1955.

However, the true story behind the make-believe tracking of Santa and his reindeer sleigh was that a young female child allegedly dialed an unlisted phone number by accident, and on the other line was what was once known as the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD).

The girl thought that she was calling Santa after seeing a promotion in a local newspaper. Instead of telling her she called the wrong number or she might potentially compromise US military systems at the height of the Cold War by making an unauthorized call, CONAD's commander on duty on Christmas Eve 1955, Colonel Harry Shoup, assured the girl that Santa had a safe journey from the North Pole and has been tracked by military radar upon reaching US airspace.

Thus, NORAD's annual Christmas mission was born.

Monitoring Santa's Location, Flight Path

According to We Are The Mighty, this year's mission remains the same - a full-scale military surveillance operation complete with a website, and thousands of volunteers looking to track Santa Claus's flight path.

Those interested in tracking Santa Claus could simply call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723).

The Pentagon added that, while Santa Claus's coordinates on the North Pole are considered open-source intelligence, some of his movements remained classified.

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