Dubbed the “Christmas Village,” the Chinese town of Yiwu is home to 600 factories that make 60 percent of the world’s Christmas decorations.
You won’t find prancing reindeer or merry Santa’s elves at this workshop, however. Instead, you will find underpaid migrant workers wearing Santa hats and face masks to keep the red powder they work with out of their hair and lungs. There’s no powdery snow here; just a lot of red powder. Workers go through an average of 10 face masks a day to prevent breathing in the fine dust.
19-year-old Wei, a migrant worker from the?rural Guizhou province, spends his days working alongside his father and other Santa’s elves in the factory. Everyday for 12 hours, the pair take 5,000 polystyrene snowflakes, dip them in glue, and put them in a powder-coating machine to turn them red.
Once the snowflakes have been completed, they will be showcased with an assortment of other festive decorations and trinkets at the Yiwu International Trade Market. This 62,000-booth market is also known as China Commodity City and contains just about any good a person could possibly want.
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Despite the fact that they work in the Christmas decoration industry, many of the?Christmas?workers in Yiwu aren’t sure exactly what Christmas is.
“Maybe it’s like [Chinese] New Year for foreigners,? said Wei to the Chinese news agency Sina.
It appears that the only association many Chinese?have with Christmas is Santa Claus and Christmas decor. According to?The Economist, Father Christmas is better known to most Chinese than Jesus.
If you think American stores are?crazy for bringing their Christmas decorations out as early as October, just visit China.?In Yiwu, the Christmas season lasts for more than half the year.
“I sell Christmas trees from March to December,? says Mrs. Ji, Yiwu market vendor.
For those who are interested in ordering something from the Yiwu market for Christmas, you?will?just have to wait until next year, and you’ll have to start?early.
As stated on the Yiwu Market Guide’s website:
“For those who plan to import Christmas decor from Yiwu, the best time to visit is before July.?After July, you will find most factories can’t deliver your orders on time because they’re fully loaded.”
Who knew Santa’s workshop?started?taking orders so early?And more importantly, who knew that Santa’s elves wore face masks?
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Alecia Pasdera is a recent college graduate from Wisconsin who is currently working as a copy editor in Kentucky. Her academic background is in journalism and communication. Alecia sees a lot of problems with the world today, and although she doesn’t have the power to change them singlehandedly, she does have the power to write about them and raise awareness. It’s her belief that education and knowledge are the strongest tools in making tomorrow a better world for everyone. You can follow her personal blog at allthingsgrowingup.weebly.com.
