Christmas in the Philippines is a marriage of Western and native Filipino traditions. From the festivities and decorations, influences from east and west are easily observable. However, all these have been adapted to fit the nature and the temperaments of the Filipino people.
Take for example, the parol. Shaped like a star, it is a traditional Filipino Christmas lantern. Just like many words in the Filipino language, it is derived from the Spanish word 'farol', meaning lantern.
During Christmas, you will find parols of varied, beautiful designs, hanging from windows of houses, business establishments, and churches. For many, it represents the guiding star of Bethlehem when Jesus was born.
It is a Christmas symbol that is uniquely Filipino. Up to now, everytime I see one, it evokes the same feeling of warmth which I don't easily experience from any other kind of ornaments.
Traditionally, a parol is made out of bamboo, with garlands made outof colored rice paper. These days, they use other native materials like
capiz ( a kind of shell), crepe paper, wires and metals. Light bulbs are often hung inside one so it can be lit at night.
Ifyou watch the slide show above, I included step by step pictures of basic parolmaking.
Parols are very much part of the Filipino Christmas scene, I don't see it ever disappearing from any Christmas celebration.
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