No Christmas would be complete in the Philippines without the dazzling display of parols - handmade lanterns of every size, color and shape - throughout cities and towns, on the streets, shops and homes.
But the grandest display of all you will find in the province of Pampaga. Every December since 1931 teams of parol craftsmen of various barangays (villages) of the town of San Fernando come together to show off their ingenuity and design talents and to compete in the Giant Lantern Festival. This is an event that today draws scores of spectators from near and far.
The parols are traditionally painstakingly made by hand with bamboo and paper, but today materials like plastic and fiberglass are also used. Each parol is about 6 meter / 20 feet in diameter and is illuminated by 3,500 to 5,000 light bulbs. If you'd like to learn more about the history and making of parols, a Pinoy blogger explains it well here.
This year nine lanterns put on a splendid light show. There were three rounds. In the first, each parol was given a time period to display a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes to recorded music of their choice (I think it was five minutes). [As usual, images can be enlarged.]
Pampanga, 2010
In the second round, three parols displayed together to music played by a brass band.
And in the final round, all nine put on a show (from where I was standing I could only get eight to fit the frame).
I could dispay a hundred photos of lanterns and still you would not get a fair presentation of the range of images; yet here is a montage of another 15 for you to enjoy.
For this event I wish I had been able to
record a part of it on video to show you the full effect of the parol
display. Take a minute and watch this one taken last year.
I also used one of the parols to create my seasonal e-card for you.
I also used one of the parols to create my seasonal e-card for you.
This is my world and I link with the team at MyWorld Tuesday.
