A visit to Santa’s workshop 

Nothing is more beautiful during the winter holidays than decorating the Christmas tree.

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 24.12.2024, 13:07

Nothing is more beautiful during the winter holidays than decorating the Christmas tree.

Few people know today that before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year round had a special meaning for people during winter. The history of Christmas trees, however, has many roots, from the use of evergreen fir trees in ancient Egypt and ancient Rome, to the German traditions of Christmas trees decorated with candles, from the 17th century, customs that reached America in the 1800s. The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree in Romania emerged after 1866, with the arrival of the Hohenzollern dynasty, when the first tree to be decorated was mentioned at the court of King Carol I.

With the emergence of this custom, tree ornaments also diversified, with hand-made ones becoming rarities. This is also the case with the glass Christmas tree balls, manufactured in Curtea de Argeș, in the so-called “Santa s Factory”. Sandu Nichita, the manager of a company in Curtea de Argeș, also called “Fabrica lui Moș Crăciun”, “Santa’s Factory” in English translation, told us where this idea came from: “It is more of a figure of speech, a metaphor. This metaphor is the idea of the company in Curtea de Argeș, a producer of glass Christmas tree balls. This activity was established in 1989, at the initiative of an American wholesaler. It has developed with investments from both sides. In the 2000s the business expanded from the US to Japan, the production level of the factory standing at about 1,000,000 units per year. During this period our products have also diversified, from some simple and easy to make objects to very complex ones, which stood out on the European and American market, this trend continuing until 2005. From 2006 – 2007 we started the activity known as “Santa’s Workshop”, which gave tourists the opportunity to see how glass Christmas globes are produced. They participate in the entire technological flow, from shaping them by blowing them with their mouths, then decorating and other activities, to putting these ornaments in boxes and then adorning with them the Christmas tree.”

We asked Sandu Nichita who these workshops are held for: “It is an interesting and attractive activity for children and young people, especially since it takes them out of that online zone and brings them into real life. I saw that during this period no one uses their mobile phones except to photograph different work stages needed in the production of glass ornaments for the Christmas tree.”

Given that, over time, the models made here have become more diversified, we asked Sandu Nichita to give us more details: “We have at least 2000 unique models, different in terms of painting, shape and other elements. Moreover, this year we have done a retrospective of the models from 1989 until now, in an exhibition that contains 5,600 copies of such ornaments. The exhibition can be visited and is a working element for traders who choose a newer or older model. Most choose the retro models and say that these are the glass Christmas tree balls of our childhood. The market is invaded by all kinds of objects that we can generically call kitsch. We attach great importance to the artistic form of the objects. In fact, the famous American businesswoman and writer Martha Stewart, has ordered blown glass Christmas tree balls from us for years in a row and also wrote a beautiful story about the winter holidays and how Romanian children are involved in the winter holidays. It was a source of pride for us and for The Santa Claus Workshop in Curtea de Argeș. Our glass balls globes also adorned the Christmas tree at the White House in Washington, and the one of the Emperor of Japan.”

Sandu Nichita also told us that this year, the ornaments produced at the The Santa Claus Workshop in Curtea de Argeș are also adorning the Christmas tree at the Bazaar of the Romanian Representation in Brussels, where they have been on display for seven years now.

These beautiful ornaments can also be purchased online.