NORAD Santa tracker 2023 LIVE: Not long till Father Christmas kicks off his journey to deliver billions of presents to children across the globe TOMORROW

Last year, families around the world were concerned when the NORAD Santa tracker unexpectedly went down.

Millions of people were following Father Christamas when the technology behind the tracking system broke down, leaving many staring at a blank screen.

The reason for this may have been the snowstorms in much of North America, which may have disrupted the power system.

However, there was nothing to worry about as Santa himself did a fine job, delivering presents with his usual efficiency.

Since Santa Claus will be visiting every country in the world in the coming days, he can expect to encounter almost every type of weather imaginable.

Although Britain is slightly warmer than normal, winter prevails in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere.

Temperatures will drop below zero in large parts of Eastern and Northern Europe, China and Japan, but also in Canada and parts of the United States.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the height of summer, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius in places like Australia, South Africa and Argentina.

The North Pole is often where people think Santa Claus lives, but where is that?

It is located at the northernmost point of the planet. If you look at a map of the Earth, it's right at the top.

It is an incredibly remote and cold place, where Santa Claus lives in solitude with his elves for most of the year.

It is so cold that even though there is no real land, it is still accessible to brave adventurers who travel across the frozen sea with huskies and sleds.

Santa Claus has a long journey ahead of Christmas and he will have to endure cold temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere while he does so in the winter.

However, he is well prepared for the frigid air, as he lives in the North Pole year-round.

In fact, it is so cold that even though there is no real land, he can still live there because the sea is completely frozen.

However, there are also people who believe that he lives in Lapland, a very cold and remote area of ​​Scandinavia in Europe.

This area covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, the latter of which claims that Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi, in Rovaniemi.

Every year, children from all over the world travel to Lapland to see Santa Claus and his reindeer, who live there in the wild.

Santa wouldn't get far on his big day without his faithful reindeer pulling his sleigh full of presents.

In the 19th century, Santa Claus was thought to have eight reindeer, but this has since been increased to nine following the popularization of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who has since become the most popular of the group.

The full list of names is:

• Rudolf
• Dasher
• Dancer
• Prancer
• Vixen
• Comet
• Cupid
• Donner
• Blitzing

To millions of children around the world, the man with the big white beard and bright red jacket is called Santa Claus.

However, he is also known by many other names, including:

• Saint Nicholas
• Santa Claus
• Kris Kringle

But where does his name come from?

It is believed that the name Santa Claus comes from the Dutch word Sinterklaas, which itself comes from Sanctus Nicolaus or Sinterklaas.

Saint Nicholas was a 4th century bishop known for his generous donations to the poor.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which tracks potential threats in the skies over the US and Canada, first tracked Santa Claus shortly after World War II.

In 1948 it issued a statement saying that the early warning radar network in the north had detected “one unidentified sleigh, driven by eight reindeer, at 14,000 feet.”

This was a one-time event, but following Santa Claus became a tradition through a heartwarming series of events that have become legendary:

• In 1955, the Sears department store placed a newspaper ad asking children to call Santa Claus, but one child accidentally dialed the wrong number and ended up calling Colorado Springs' Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), the predecessor to NORAD.
• Colonel Harry Shoup, the crew commander on duty, responded and gave the child a made-up location for Santa Claus.
• Cnl Shoup then told the press that “CONAS, the Army, Navy and Naval Air Force will continue to monitor and monitor Santa Claus and his sleigh during his journey to and from the US against possible attacks from those who do not believe in Christmas.”
• NORAD took over the responsibility for reporting Santa's whereabouts in 1958 and since then, as technology has become more advanced, so has the accuracy and precision with which they can keep track of Santa Claus.
• A hotline number allows the public to call and get updates on Santa's progress. The calls are handled by more than 1,500 volunteers who give up their time to keep children informed of his whereabouts.

Good old Sinterklaas has quite a journey to make before he arrives in Great Britain.

Santa Claus begins at the International Date Line, which runs through the Pacific Ocean.

His sleigh, pulled by his nine reindeer, begins traveling to island nations in the South Pacific before moving on to New Zealand and Australia.

From there it will move north to Japan, across Asia and through Africa, before heading north to Europe.

He is expected to start delivering presents in London around noon on Christmas Eve.

He will then cross the Atlantic Ocean, first entering Canada and then delivering gifts for children in the United States, traveling through places like New York, Boston and Florida in just an hour – he works fast!

He will then continue south to Mexico and Central and South America, completing his mammoth journey around noon on Christmas Day.

Despite the great speed with which Santa Claus travels around the world at Christmas, we can follow him thanks to the wonders of modern technology.

The technicians at the North American Aerospace Defense Command – also known as NORAD – are keeping an eye on Santa so we can all rest assured that everything is running smoothly.

They even have their own website run by volunteers where you can follow his journey second by second. You can find it by clicking here.