An Accidental Christmas Tradition

Dear Readers:

The Christmas season of 1955 was to be different no matter what. The United States was in the middle of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and the fear of nuclear missiles screaming overhead signaling a nuclear war was ever present. That year, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was expectantly watching the skies for any problem. Suddenly, the top security hot line telephone rang. Silence fell over the command center as the commander answered the phone. This could not be good news since the person on the other end could only be from the Pentagon. When the commander answered the phone, the response was not what was expected. A young voice softly asked, “Are you Santa Claus?” The commander immediately thought someone in the room was playing a not-so-funny joke on him. After demanding to know who was making the call, he encountered a crying youngster. The commander quickly realized this was no prank and that a child had called this top-secret number looking to talk to Santa Claus! Being a father himself, the commander quickly consoled the child and listened quietly to his Christmas wish list. He then asked to speak to the child’s mother. The mother told the commander that the Sears, Roebuck and Company Department Store Christmas advertisement in the newspaper had given that number for children to call to speak to Santa Claus! As soon as the commander hung up, the phone continuously rang with children looking to speak to Santa Claus. Rising to the occasion, the commander assigned servicemen to answer the calls. Additionally, he called the phone company and had a new hot line telephone number created.

A few weeks later, on December 24, 1955, the commander was visiting the command center when he saw that someone had drawn a red sleigh on the giant world map where they tracked airplanes. The sleigh was coming from the direction of the North Pole toward the United States. A smiling commander then called the local radio station telling them that CONAD was following an unidentified object that appeared to be a sleigh coming toward the United States. The message was an immediate hit. Within minutes of the broadcast, radio stations across the United States were calling to receive updates on the sleigh’s location. A Christmas tradition was born.

CONAD gave the responsibility of the Santa Tracker to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in 1958, and the Christmas Eve notices were continued. During the 1960s, records show that vinyl records with reports on Santa’s location were sent to radio stations, and in the 1970s, television notices were used. In the digital age, Santa can be tracked on the NORAD Tracks Santa website. If children (of any age!) want a personal message, they can email noradtrackssanta@outlook.com or call the NORAD toll-free number at 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on Christmas Eve beginning at 6:00 AM Eastern Time. According to reports, more than 1500 military and civilian volunteers will be answering the more than 150 000 calls received each Christmas Eve—many from around the world.

When something might not seem to be just right or is a little out of the ordinary, check it out. It might be an opportunity in disguise that will allow you to make a great difference for a few or many—you never know. I am looking forward to checking the website this Christmas Eve and following Santa’s route to our house! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Terry Treadwell, MD, FACS 
Editor-in-Chief, Wounds
woundseditor@hmpglobal.com

Note: This editorial includes an adaptation of an article, The Wrong Number That Launched the Santa Tracker, by Christopher Klein. Available at
https://www.history.com/news/the-wrong-number-that-launched-the-santa-tracker.