In 1955, a Sears department store in Colorado Springs ran a newspaper advertisement with a phone number for children to call Santa Claus. Due to a printing error, the advertisement displayed the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) number instead. When a young girl dialled the wrong number, she reached Colonel Harry Shoup, monitoring the nation’s airspace for potential threats.
Instead of dismissing the call, Colonel Shoup chose to play along and pretended to be Santa Claus. He asked the girl if she had been good and what she wanted for Christmas. As more children called the number, Colonel Shoup and his staff continued to answer and spread holiday cheer.
This accidental tradition continued, and eventually, CONAD and its successor, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), embraced the role of Santa trackers. Today, NORAD still operates the NORAD Tracks Santa program every Christmas Eve, with volunteers answering phone calls and providing updates on Santa’s whereabouts as he delivers presents worldwide.
This unexpected and heartwarming story is often seen as a Christmas miracle, as it turned a mistake into a beloved tradition that brings joy to millions of children every year.
