NORAD Still Tracking Santa on Christmas Eve Despite US Gov't Shutdown

© REUTERS / Andrew KellyA man dressed as Santa Claus ice skates at The Rink At Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve in Manhattan, New York City, US.
A man dressed as Santa Claus ice skates at The Rink At Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve in Manhattan, New York City, US. - Sputnik International
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Every year on Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Base in Colorado becomes the centre of tracking Santa Claus's Christmas trip.

"In the event of a government shutdown, NORAD will continue with its 63-year tradition of NORAD Tracks Santa on Dec. 24", NORAD wrote on Twitter.

The statement comes after the US federal government partially shut down after members of Congress failed to resolve differences over $5 billion in spending for President Donald Trump's border wall.

Social media users have reacted to the statement, saying that the shutdown doesn't affect Santa's annual tracking.

The project, called NORAD Tracks Santa, began in 1955 when an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper encouraged children to call Santa and ask for presents. However, due to an error with a phone number, Col. Harry Shoup's secret hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command, now known as NORAD, had to answer calls for Santa.

Afterwards, NORAD's base in Colorado converted into a centre for monitoring the Christmas Eve journey, using satellites, radars and US and Canadian fighters in the air over the United States and Canada to track Santa on his route.

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