DENVER: Santa Claus drove his reindeer-powered sleigh over rooftops around the world on Wednesday, delivering gifts to millions of children in a magic Christmas Eve ritual that North American air defense officials say they began tracking 70 years ago.
Still, despite its devotion to a tradition dating back to the Cold War era of 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad, possesses limited intelligence about the direction that Santa will take in any given year.
Santa is not required to file a flight plan. So the only thing NORAD knows for sure in advance is that the red-suited jolly old elf, also known as Kris Kringle or Saint Nicholas, takes off every Christmas Eve from his home base at the North Pole.