“Parol” – Colorful Star of Christmas in the Philippines
"Parol" - a uniquely Filipino Christmas lantern
"Five-Pointed Star" - modern parols use more colorful materials such as tinsel, foil, and colored plastic sheets
Christmases in the Philippines have all the traces of foreign influence courtesy of hundreds of years of colonization and interaction with other cultures. Christmas trees, bells, and colored lights, even imitation images of Santa Claus and his reindeers, the snowman, and the mistletoe, can be found everywhere in the Philippines during the yuletide season. Thankfully, something remained in Christmas celebrations that is truly and uniquely Filipino and that is the “parol”, a star-shaped Christmas lantern.
"Christmas Past and Christmas Present" - a young girl and her grandma sit by their display of colorful parols
Grandma reminisces on her past Christmases
Believed to be inspired by the star that guided the Magi to the manger in the story of the Nativity of Jesus; the parol comes in various shapes, sizes, designs and materials but the shape of a 5-pointed star remains to be its dominant feature. The parol also symbolizes the victory of light over darkness among the predominantly Christian Filipinos whose hope and goodwill are joyfully celebrated with family members and friends during the Christmas season under colorfully lighted parols.
"Tinsel Shop" - a parol-maker prepares cutouts for the parols
"Parol Factory" - a backyard parol shop and their delivery tricycle
The first parol was designed by a Filipino artisan named Francisco Estanislao in 1928. The original design was made of bamboo strips and papel de japon (Japanese paper) but the design has since evolved and it is now made of various materials with more intricate features and lighting. While many Filipinos, especially those in the rural areas, still create their own parols; those in the urban areas find it more convenient to just choose from the various designs and sizes being sold along major streets and even in big malls and department stores. Certain places in the Philippines such as Pampanga in Central Luzon and Parañaque in Metro Manila have become famous for their uniquely designed parols. A huge majority of Filipinos celebrate Christmas and put up Christmas parols and other decors as early as September each year thus parol-making has also become a thriving seasonal industry in the Philippines.
Another parol-maker assembles the basic frame of a parol
In Davao City, the parols are mostly coming from backyard shops around the Maa area. I chanced upon some of these parol-makers and vendors the other day and spent some time with them taking photos and learning more about their trade. My favorite photos are those of a young girl and her grandmother who I chatted with as they sat inside a flimsy parol-delivery tricycle.
Maligayang Pasko! (Merry Christmas)
Related articles
- The Christmas of September (kristianmeryll.wordpress.com)
- The Start of the Red-Green-Festivity (theinnerrhythm.wordpress.com)
- Filipino Native Accessories (orobiahangshere.wordpress.com)
- It’s Too Early (1stepup2stepsback.wordpress.com)
The drag of endless mental work in a strange land takes its toll. Fatigue can kill so petty escapades provide hopeful deviations from the brewing madness. An aging DSLR keeps good company to a walk around the neighbourhood, a short drive to a scenic place, or a silent recollection in a quiet nook granting that the host community and the elements of nature would allow one a safe passage to solitude and contemplation. Loneliness quickly turns to joy when something exciting gets captured by the cam’s shutter then set free into the laptop’s screen followed by electric words that rush from the fingers to the keyboard in an effort to describe the moment. Alas, the brain is alive once again!
Such vibrant colours!!! 🙂 I hope I can travel there one day! 😉
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Thanks Kristina. Tell me when that day comes. I’ll be glad to show you around. 🙂
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Thanks for another colourful and interesting article.
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Thanks again, Dave.
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Great use of color!
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Thanks Larry. Grateful for the visit.
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Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your photos are very well done. Best wishes.
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The pleasure is mine, Victor. Thanks for your kind comment.
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the vibrant colours brought the whole surroundings to life. kudos for capturing such interesting pictures!
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Hi. This is Ian of UP ISSI. We would like to use your photos as part of the Christmas banner of our website. Would you allow us to do so. We will acknowledge you as the owner of the images.
Kind regards,
Ian de Vera
UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries
KM-ICT Department
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Hi Ian. It will be an honor for my photos to be used by your website. Thanks. Kindly contact me and provide more details about your plans via e-mail at jessie_ponce@yahoo.com. Regards.
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What awesome colors!
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Thanks Kath.
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Pingback: A Traveller’s Tale 2011 – Half a Year of Photos | A Traveller's Tale
Thanks for the thumbs up on “River Fog”. Am enjoying viewing your photos. We share a common vision. Keep on shooting.
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Hi Maurice. Am really pleased to have you visit my blog as well. I’m a regular visitor of your gallery. Regards.
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Wonderful to see photos of the Philippine Christmas traditions! Thank you so much–and for your appreciation of my watercolours. I found other rather unique symbols when I was in The Philippines, such as the Christmas Rose which adorned boulevard lamp posts in Manila, and also the use of pineapples as a Christmas symbol. It is probably the country with the longest Christmas celebration because it gets going in September and keeps goes right through to Epiphany. Carolers came around some nights and we gave them all pesos, then on Christmas Day everyone did a roaming visit to everyone’s homes and were treated with food. It was a glorious Christmas, ending of course in lots of karaoke!
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Hi, Lance. I love your watercolours. I wish I could produce such wonderful images. I also used to paint but lost the hobby to photography which I found more suitable for my frequent travels.
It’s good to know that you are familiar with how Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines. That’s a whole story for a blog post you got there in your comment.
You’re right, some deviations from the Christmas parol have emerged in recent years. I recently judged a parol-making contest and the entries were really nice but I found some of them too far-out from original design. Can you imagine helicopters and farm carts as parols?! But yes, we had karaoke after the judging. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by.
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Wonderful Post, very informative! The Philippines seem rich with festive holiday traditions.
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Thanks, Scott.
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So VIVID!! ❤
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Thank you, chelsea.
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What an exciting life you lead, Shutterbug; thanks for sharing your great photographs. I’m wondering what country you have most enjoyed photographing, what peoples you have most enjoyed getting to know. I certainly hope there are many other travels ahead of you!
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Hi Dave. Well, the most assignments I had was in Mongolia so its my most photographed country as well. I always enjoyed the adrenaline rush when I’m there because, unlike in other countries, I won’t know what to expect. Thanks for your kind comments, Dave. 🙂
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Wonderful photos! Here’s some fo my Christmas photos from London! http://travelwithkat.com/2012/01/03/new-years-eve-at-londons-hyde-park/
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I love the colors! I
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Thanks Katryn and kdevries 🙂
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This brought back lovely memories. How I miss home.
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The urge to see or at least remember home is heaviest during the holiday season, I know. Thanks for visiting, Hope.
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Ang ganda. I wish I can have a parol here for Christmas but all I can do is the round cartolina variation. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog.
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This is a one of a kindwebsite please feature Philippines more often I am a filipino so it is a great appreciation for you it helped me a lot in my study for the test
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Hi Thanks for liking my new blog. You have a lot of great features here! Thanks for helping us learn about many places through your photos.
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Hi. Thanks for returning the visit and for letting me know. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts. Good luck!
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