Santa Claus’ journey to children around the world began on Sunday under the watchful eye of the US military, which has followed his route for decades since December 24, France Presse reported.

The sled took off from its base at the North Pole and was over Jakarta at 15:38 GMT, according to the US-Canada Air Force Command (Norad). Even faster than the F-15s of the US Air Force, it “slows down so that we can accompany it”, assures Norad.

Such tracking, which Norad said was made possible by sensors in the red nose of Rudolph, one of nine reindeer pulling the sled, is a tradition in the United States.

It all started with a typographical error in a 1955 Sears ad asking a local newspaper in Colorado to call for Santa Claus.

The specified number was supposed to be a direct connection to the famous legendary character, but was actually the red phone of Norad during the Cold War.

At first off guard, when he found himself on the phone with a little boy asking him if he really was “Santa,” the officer on duty that day, Colonel Harry Shoup, intervened.

He instructed his subordinates to spread the word about Santa’s whereabouts and even called a local radio station to report that he had seen a strange object in the sky.

Sixty-eight years later, Norad continues to carry on the tradition.

This year, US President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, also closely followed the route of Santa Claus, located at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, along with children and families from across the country, the White House said in a statement.

According to Norad, Santa’s tour began with an unprecedented first stop: the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits Earth.

After crossing the Asia-Pacific region, Santa’s sleigh flew over Israel, the southern Gaza Strip, Africa and Palmer Station, the US research base in Antarctica.

It then flew over South America to the United States, handing out 100,000 gifts per second during the trip.

In total, Santa Claus had given out almost 5.5 billion presents by 03:00 GMT on December 25, Christmas Day. (Agerpres) (Photo source Dreamstime)