Santa Claus was a forbidden figure in Romania during the Christmases that fell during the Communist period of 1947 to 1989. In the tumultuous December of 1989, he and other holiday figures were allowed to return.
For the past two years, thousands of Romanian children have had a chance to see Santa in person and even tug on his white beard. In 2005, the Autostrada Transilvania staff, the city hall of Cluj-Napoca, and the Cluj prefect’s office got together and built a wooden hut for the jolly old man. It sits on top of a truck trailer and travels to villages along the alignment of the future highway.
Santa’s house made appearances at a dozen urban and rural locations in 2006. So far, more than 4,500 kids have visited the hut, where they can sit on Santa’s lap, hear holiday music, and have their photographs taken. Six project employees have volunteered to play Santa and 25 have dressed up as reindeer. More than 50 others have been involved Santa House-related activities.
Last December, the Autostrada Santa even starred on a local radio show. The team plans to expand the Santa House program to more segments of the motorway and to continue Santa’s Romanian tour indefinitely.
It’s an example of a successful partnership between public entities and private companies. But that’s grown-up talk. As Bechtel Project Manager Michael Mix puts it, the house is simply “a way to let kids dream again.”
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