Dec 23, 2008 8:44 pm US/Eastern
Santa To Launch Sleigh 2 Hours Later This Year
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Santa has made a slight change in his flight schedule this year, possibly due to the bedtime hour for youngsters around the world, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Tuesday.
NORAD, in coordination with the North Pole staff, were notified that Santa will launch his sleigh two hours later than in past years. The jolly fellow didn't give a reason why he is starting his trip around the world later, but he is scheduled to launch from the North Pole at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Christmas Eve.
"For the past six years Santa has launched from the North Pole two hours earlier than he intends this year", said Maj. Stacia Reddish, NORAD Tracks Santa Program Manager. "Although we are not 100-percent certain of the reason behind the later departure, it may be due to the bedtime hour for youngsters around the world. In years past, Santa has often times had to circle back around since many of the children were not asleep when he visited them the first time."
People who want to track Santa's journey this year can do so by checking updates on Twitter. Just add
noradsanta to your tweets and join in with the holiday conversations.
Children can also call a toll-free number to speak personally to a Santa tracker on Christmas Eve. That number is 1-877-Hi-NORAD. Kids can also send e-mails to
noradtrackssanta@gmail.com.
In 2007, 1,012 volunteers at the NTS Operations Center answered 94,743 telephone calls and 10,326 emails from children around the world.
The NORAD Tracks Santa Web site, www.noradsanta.org, went live Dec. 1 and has already recorded more than a 1.016 million visitors from more than 200 countries and territories. Last year, the site received almost 11 million visitors from 212 countries and territories around the world.
On Dec 24, when Santa takes off from the North Pole, children can track him with up-to-the-minute reports in Google Maps and Google Earth and can view video captured by NORAD's Santa cams from several key stops. All of this information is available on the
Web site in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and new this year, Chinese.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
