This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Jon Llewellyn, a 51-year-old snow project manager who makes fake snow for TV and films. It's been edited for length and clarity.

The snow is loose Styrofoam like you’d find in ... which also serves as the trunk of the fake tree, and it erupts from the top bringing Christmas cheer to an otherwise quiet room.

"Come on, let us pray together" for snow, he begged us perplexed reporters while a snowmaking machine roared nearby. The 2022 Winter Olympics kick off today in Beijing, where the lack of natural ...