NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed program in which NORAD simulates the tracking of Santa Claus, who is said to leave the North Pole to travel around the world on his mission to deliver presents to children every year on Christmas Eve. The program starts on December 1, but the actual Santa-tracking simulation starts on midnight of December 23. It is a community outreach function of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and has been held annually since 1955.