Charitable Christmas tree auction in Romania raises over EUR 1 mln at 2025 edition
Over EUR 1 million was raised at the 25th Christmas Tree Festival, which took place on Thursday, December 4, at the National Museum of Art in Bucharest. Funds will be used by Save the Children Romania, the organizer of the auction, for access to quality education.
The tree that raised the most money in the auction, EUR 220,000, was 'A Cosmic Tree of Life', created by artist Vlad Nanca, supported by Unicredit Bank. The tree, made out of welded metal and Murano glass mosaic, was Nanca’s first contribution to the Christmas Trees Festival.
"'A Cosmic Tree of Life' is conceived as a modular, transformable ensemble of works that can be assembled in two distinct but equally autonomous configurations. In its vertical form, the work becomes a cosmic tree, a constellation of planets and orbits, which unites ritual with discovery, the human with the celestial. Beyond the seasonal reference, this version functions as a reflection on creation, connection, and cycles of renewal that go far beyond a single moment of the year,” the artist said in the description of the work.
The tree 'A Cosmic Tree of Life' surpassed the record for the highest bid, previously held since 2019 by Omid Ghannadi’s creation, 'Roots', which was auctioned for EUR 180,000. Another creation by fashion designer Doina Levintza, 'The Angel', raised EUR 100,000.
The third-placed tree was ‘Compassion,’ created by Omid Ghannadi, Alex Iancio & Robert Nagy, which raised EUR 70,000.
“Beyond the immediate humanitarian stakes, our objective is to bring the right to non-discriminatory education for all children to the center of public debate. School is the condition without which the vicious circle of poverty remains closed. That is why I am grateful for the tremendous generosity of those who contributed to the 25th edition of the Christmas Tree Festival, because, in this way, the voices of these children made vulnerable by poverty move beyond statistics and are heard,” said Gabriela Alexandrescu, Executive President of Save the Children Romania.
More than one-third (33.8%) of Romanian children continued to live at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024, above the European Union average of 24.2%. Children in rural areas have a much higher risk of poverty or social exclusion.
During the previous 24 editions of the Christmas Tree Festival, funds were raised that actively supported 272,127 children.
(Photo source: press release)
