Dec. 22 (UPI) — Don’t worry kids, the government’s partial shutdown won’t prevent the tracking of Santa Claus‘ progress around the world in delivering presents on Christmas Eve.
Although hundreds of thousands of employees are off the job because funding ran out for about 25 percent of the government, the North American Aerospace Defense Command tweeted on Friday that it is prepared to track Santa’s journey like it has done for 63 years.
“Military personnel who conduct NORAD Tracks Santa are supported by approximately 1,500 volunteers who make the program possible each and every year,” according to the tweet.
The military actually isn’t affected by the shutdown because the Defense Department is fully funded through next September as is the case for three quarters of the agencies. The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security are among the agencies affected.
First lady Melania Trump said she would still participate in the annual tradition of calling in to NORAD on Christmas Eve, according to an NBC News report. She arrived at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach,on Friday night, but the White House announced Saturday the first lady will return to Washington to join her husband, President Donald Trump.
The Santa-tracking website for NORAD, which is based near Colorado Springs, Colo., is noradsanta.org. It features visual display tracking the progress and links to information on different visits.
In addition, the U.S. Postal Service will still be sorting and delivering presidents.
In a tweet on Saturday, the postal service said it also would not be impacted by the government shutdown.
“All Post Offices will remain open for business. Because we are an independent entity that is funded through the sale of our products & services, and not by tax dollars, our services will not be impacted by a gov’t shutdown,” the service tweeted.
