A video posted by NORAD, which shows Santa Claus cruising through the sky on his sleigh guided by Rudolf, as well as escorted by a couple of fighter jets has raised brows of some rights groups.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, is a U.S. military website that allows children and families observing Christmas to navigate a special event website or call via telephone to get "real-time" updates of Santa Claus as he travels worldwide to deliver gifts. In 2012, around 22 million people reached out to the holiday event by NORAD.
"This is a site that is intended as a service to children around the world," said Capt. Jeff Davis, a NORAD spokesman. "We did make a conscious effort this year to be a bit more operational because that's what we do."
However, some rights groups suggest that the video, which is supposed to be light-hearted and watched by millions of children worldwide, should not take the opportunity to market what the organization does. Moreover, Christmas is an occasion of gift and fun and depicts positivity and as such, fighter jets - definitely not associated with fun or peace - should not be depicted in the video.
"They're not showing their capabilities to adults, they're showing their capabilities to children. As an adult I find it interesting, but the problem is that children are watching this," said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
Josh Golin, the associate director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, says that the video is disgraceful as it may develop fear in children that Santa Claus is also vulnerable to attack and needs protection.
China's newly declared and highly contentious air defense zone has become a major concern in the political arena. White House national security spokesperson Caitlin Hayden also addressed (probably light-heartedly) if Santa's fictitious flight for gift delivery run into any problems while flying through the sensitive air defence zone of China.
Check out the video of Santa riding on his sleigh across different locations of the world.
