Thanksgiving marks an unusual Christmas tradition for children and fans of Santa Claus around the world: it is the start of the Update from the North Pole, a publication that tells the annual story of Santa Claus in the days leading up to Christmas. 2006 marks the 15th consecutive year of tracking Santa Claus from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve night.

"A lot of websites out there track Santa Claus around the globe on Christmas Eve," noted Jeff Westover, operator of My Merry Christmas, a large Internet website devoted to Christmas. "But the Update from the North Pole approaches it a little differently. We begin on Thanksgiving and tell the story of Christmas over a period of a month. Then we end it with a bang by detailing Santa's ride around the world on Christmas Eve. Last year, more than half a million people checked in on Santa's progress on Christmas Eve alone and millions more followed along via radio or television media outlets who picked up our feed."

The Update from the North Pole was not always distributed using such high-tech methods. Back in 1991 Westover was a newly married step-father of a five year old little girl who knew nothing of Santa Claus and did little to celebrate his tradition. He began to receive the updates from a friend "at the North Pole", who would send them via a fax machine to his home office. As his daughter would take the updates with her to school, Westover soon began to receive requests from other parents to be added to the fax distribution list. The updates have been continuously published every year since then.

"Back then, my daughter had great traditions in her life connected to Christmas that included family and festivities. But she what she lacked was a thorough understanding of Christmas traditions. The updates presented them at her level in a fun and interesting way."

Starting on Thanksgiving day the Update from the North Pole begins publishing the story of "Operation Merry Christmas". The updates detail life at the North Pole for Santa, the elves and their families using a cast of characters that have been developed over the years. "We not only learn about Santa but interwoven in the story line are explanations of Christmas traditions, legends and stories." Westover explains.

"Kids will write in with questions and we will answer them via the updates. Who invented eggnog? Why do we use red and green at Christmas? What do bells have to do with Christmas? These are the kinds of things that are discussed over a month period leading up to Christmas. We believe the updates are a great way for kids to learn."

The same idea is presented to the updates provided on Christmas Eve. "Kids are going to get wound up about Santa on Christmas Eve and that's fun. But at the same time they can learn a little geography by pulling out a map and tracking Santa around the world with us. The can learn a little about the different cultures where Santa visits and how different parts of the world celebrates Christmas. We've been doing it in my home all these years. It's our Christmas Eve tradition, led by my eldest daughter who is now 20 years old and well into college."

The Update from the North Pole is a commercial-free publication made available at Santa Update.com, My Merry Christmas.com, and dozens of other websites online.