OTTAWA, December 24. /TASS/. Santa Claus and his magic reindeer have flown over Russia, including Moscow, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported on Saturday. For 67 years, NORAD has been "tracking" the journey of Santa Claus on the night before Christmas, celebrated on December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar.

The agency said in a special message on www.noradsanta.org that Santa Claus had flown over Moscow. It is the website where the North American military is monitoring Santa’s Christmas journey in real time.

Earlier, NORAD radars tracked the magical sleighs over the Kuril Islands, the Far East, Siberia, the Urals and the Volga region, as well as in Australia, Japan, China, Kazakhstan, India, Africa and the Middle East. So far, Santa has delivered nearly 3 billion gifts.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which includes US and Canadian air defense and missile defense systems, "tracks" Santa Claus’ journey since 1955 using radars and satellites. Santa’s sleigh takes off from the North Pole on 02:01 December 24 Eastern Standard Time (10:01 Moscow time). Children in Australia and New Zealand are usually the first to receive gifts. Santa then visits Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin and North America.