Well, it's already December -- how the year has flown by! Everywhere I look I see the colors and sights of Christmas -- and this is Tokyo that I'm talking about! Looks like more Japanese kids have started believing in Santa Claus, too.
Actually, if you really want to track down Santa Claus and his reindeer, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) has a new Santa tracking system on its web site. For those of you who may not know, normally NORAD is a fearsome aerospace protection system run by both the US and Canadian military. So what's with the Santa deal?
According to NORADs Christmas website, the fifth year in a row that they've prepared one, the system tracks Santa's movements by using satellites and infrared radar that can detect Rudolph's red nose.
The site is in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and even Japanese!
I don't want to say that the whole thing is a waste of time, because some of you out there may have kids who like using the Internet. But I do think it's a bit paradoxical that the story of Santa is being perpetuated by two of the most technically complex systems known to mankind: NORAD and the Web. Still, please show it to your kids --they'll have a ball!
http://www.noradsanta.org