Giant Lantern Festival

The Giant Lantern Festival (Kapampangan: Liligan Parul) is an annual festival held in December (Saturday before Christmas Eve) in the City of San Fernando in the Philippines. The festival features a competition of giant lanterns. Because of the popularity of the festival, the city has been nicknamed the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines".

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The San Fernando lantern industry evolved from the Giant Lantern Festival of San Fernando. The festival, which is held every December, finds its roots in Bacolor where a much simpler activity was held. Following the transfer of the provincial capital from Bacolor to San Fernando in August 1904, this lantern event followed as well. "Ligligan Parol" was said to have started in San Fernando in 1904. But some say that the "Ligligan Parol" did not happen immediately after the transfer and in fact began in 1908.

This predecessor of the modern day Giant Lantern Festival was actually a religious activity which we know today as “lubenas.” The lanterns measured just two feet in diameter, a far cry from the fifteen feet that we see today. These were created in each barrio from bamboo and other locally available materials. During the nine-day novena before Christmas, which coincided with the simbang gabi from December 16 to 24, these paruls were brought around each barrio in procession to their visita. Before the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the lanterns were brought to the town church together with the barrio patrons.

This tradition gradually evolved as the lanterns became bigger and the designs more intricate. Later, one big lantern was made for each barrio, which was created through a cooperative effort. Each resident contributed to its construction, from the concept and design, to the materials and labor. In the end, these lanterns became a symbol of unity for the barrios.

It was in 1931 that electricity was introduced to the San Fernando lantern, thus sparking the birth of the first Giant Lantern Festival. The added illusion of dancing lights highlighted the bright colors and intricate designs of these Giant Lanterns. At this time, the lights were controlled by individual switches that were turned on and off following the beat of the music. The barangays of Del Pilar, Sta. Lucia and San Jose were among the first barangays to participate in the festival: The Story behind the Giant Lanterns of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga]

The first lantern festival was held to honor PresidentManuel L. Quezon. At that time, Quezon made Arayat his rest area and converted Mount Arayat into a tourist resort. As a show of gratitude to Quezon, the people of San Fernando held a Christmas lantern contest to honor the first family. Quezon himself donated the prize for his lantern contest, which was personally awarded to the winner by First Lady Aurora Aragon Quezon.[1]

In the years that followed, more innovations were introduced to the giant lanterns. Colored plastics replaced traditional papel de hapon. The use of colored plastics will continue on until 2010, wherein fiberglass and handmade paper will make their first appearances on the lanterns.[2]

Large steel barrels called rotors also substituted the hand-controlled switches to manipulate the lights. And lanterns have grown in size, approximately 20-feet today, and illuminated by about 3,500 to 5,000 light bulbs.

Originating from the 1908 Francisco Estanislao pioneering of the lantern-making industry,[4] the 104th-year "Parulan" and “Ligligan Parul" ("Showdown of Giant Lanterns)" Parade and Festival (GLF) for year 2012 was held on 15 December 2012 (7:00 p.m.) in Robinsons Star Mills Pampanga's Rear Alfresco.[5][6] with 11 barangays having participated.[7][8][9][10]

The original bamboo was replaced by a steel frame, lined with cardboard and foil with 10,000 light bulbs wired by 100 yards of electrical wires amid the Rotor (electric) (large steel barrels that switch and maneuver the lights, using masking tapes and hairpins).

Brgy. Del Pilar claimed the Champion trophy and giant check of P 120,000, while Brgy. Telabastagan and San Jose received the P 60,000 and P 40,000 runner-up prizes, respectively.[11] About 100,000 spectators, including foreign diplomats and tourists viewed the world-class, one-of-a-kind spectacle which began at 7:00 p.m. with performing orchestra, rock-band, music and dance numbers. The Festival ended with a display of fireworks.[12] at the Rear Alfresco of Robinsons Starmills.[13]

Part of the Festival, was the Inter-School Lantern Parade - a Friday afternoon march from the Pampanga High School to the City Hall with the lanterns made of garbage or trash (plastic bottles, discarded seashells, recycled paper, tin cans, bottle tops and straws and even water lily).[14]

Rolando Quiambao stands as the famed lantern masters of the City of San Fernando, whose workshop still produces the dazzling lights of the lanterns for a good line of patrons or "suki" locally and worldwide (exports to United States and Europe distributors).[15]

The competitors are defending champions Sta. Lucia, Calulut, Del Carmen, Del Pilar, Dolores, San Jose, San Juan, San Nicolas, San Pedro Cutud, Sto. Niño, and Telabastagan. Each of the lanterns cost P500,000 (but the city government subsidized the costs at P125,000).[16]

Each "parul" has a safety box (75 KVA generator, powerful enough to electrify an entire barangay, even made high-tech and computerized). The shapes vary fromn the rose, the bromeliad, snowflakes and the sea urchin which rhythmically dance to brass bands and solemn music).

Gigantic parols span an average breadth of 40 feet (crepe paper, Japanese paper, soft-drink straws, wood, plastic, glass, metal, capiz shell and other native materials (with average weight of 1 ton, requiring at least 50 workers to assemble in 365 days (January to May, electrical framework; June to July, electrical wiring; August to December, the papering).

The first biggest lantern in the world was maded in Ganesh Kala Krida, Pune district in India in 1998 (38 feet tall and 22 feet wide 2,000 sheets of thermocol and 55 pounds of nails and 250 bulbs). A 60-foot lantern costs P5 million. 100 craftsmen in City of San Fernando tried to create a 100 feet diameter Parul. Pampanga board member Robert David in 1998 made the "Millennium Parol," and in 1989, he built the first fiberglass lantern (Bren Guiao Convention Center). In 1990, he made a fiberglass lantern (roof of the Paskuhan Village, the first in Asia and the third in the world).[17]