Giant Lantern Festival Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Giant Lantern Festival
Some of the giant Christmas lanterns competing in the festival in 2012
Official name	Ligligan Parul
Observed by	City of San Fernando, Pampanga
Type	Cultural
Significance	Celebrates the start of the Christmas season in the Philippines
Observances	Holiday
Begins	December 16, 2021
Ends	January 2, 2022
Date	Lua error in Module:Wikidata at line 132: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Christmas in the Philippines

The Giant Lantern Festival (also known as Ligligan Parul in Kapampangan) is a super colorful and exciting yearly event. It happens in mid-December in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, in the Philippines. This festival is famous for its amazing competition where huge, glowing lanterns called parols light up the night. Because of this awesome festival, San Fernando is often called the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines"!

Central Luzon Television has been the official TV partner for the festival since 2008.

History of the Giant Lanterns
Gallery
In Popular Culture
See also

History of the Giant Lanterns

The amazing lantern-making tradition in San Fernando grew from this very festival. The festival, held every December, actually started in Bacolor as a simpler event. When the provincial capital moved from Bacolor to San Fernando in August 1904, the lantern event moved too. Some say the "Ligligan Parul" began in San Fernando in 1904, while others believe it started in 1908.

Early Lantern Traditions

The first version of the Giant Lantern Festival was a religious activity called “lubenas.” Back then, the lanterns were only about two feet wide. This is much smaller than the huge fifteen-foot lanterns you see today! People in each local area, called a barrio, made these lanterns from bamboo and other materials they found nearby.

During the nine days before Christmas, from December 16 to 24, these lanterns were carried in processions around each barrio. They would go to their local chapel, called a visita. Before the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, all the lanterns were brought to the main town church.

Lanterns Grow Bigger and Brighter

Over time, this tradition changed. The lanterns became much bigger, and their designs grew more detailed. Later, each barrio started making one giant lantern together. Everyone in the community helped build it, from planning the design to gathering materials and working on it. These lanterns became a wonderful symbol of unity for the barrios.

In 1931, something big happened: electricity was added to the San Fernando lanterns! This was the start of the first true Giant Lantern Festival. The new electric lights made the lanterns look like they were dancing. This made their bright colors and detailed designs stand out even more. At first, people used individual switches to turn the lights on and off to the beat of music. Some of the first barrios to join the festival were Del Pilar, Sta. Lucia, and San Jose.

Honoring a President

The very first lantern festival was held to honor Manuel L. Quezon, who was the President at the time. President Quezon used Arayat as his resting place and turned Mount Arayat into a tourist spot. To thank him, the people of San Fernando held a Christmas lantern contest. President Quezon himself gave the prize money, and his wife, Aurora Aragon Quezon, personally gave the award to the winner.

Modern Lantern Innovations

The festival was only canceled twice, in 1978 and 1979, during a special time in the country's history. After that, many new ideas were added to the giant lanterns. Colorful plastics began to replace the traditional Japanese paper, called papel de hapon. Plastic was used until 2010, when fiberglass and handmade paper also started appearing on the lanterns.

Large steel barrels called rotors replaced the hand-controlled switches. These rotors now control the lights automatically. Today, the lanterns have grown to about 20 feet tall! They are lit up by about 3,500 to 5,000 light bulbs.

The festival almost didn't happen in 1991 because of the huge Mount Pinatubo eruption.

Festival Venues and Winners

From 1990 to 1998, the festival was held at Paskuhan Village. In 1999, it moved to the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center. From 2000 to 2007, the venue was SM City Pampanga. Since 2008, the festival has been held at Robinsons Starmills.

New barrios have joined the competition over the years. In 2011, Brgy. Calulut and Brgy. Del Carmen joined for the first time. In 2015, Brgy. Sindalan and Brgy. Pandaras also joined.

In 2016, Brgy. Dolores became a grand slam champion! They won three years in a row: 2014, 2015, and 2016. Brgy. Calulut came in second, and Brgy. Sindalan was third.

In 2017, a rule was made to limit the number of lights. Each giant lantern could only have up to 10,000 light bulbs. That year, Brgy. Dolores won again, making it their fourth win! Brgy. San Jose was second, and Brgy. Del Pilar was third. Brgy. Del Rosario also joined the competition for the first time.

In 2018, Brgy. Dolores did not compete because they had won so many times. Three barrios returned to the competition: San Pedro, Sto. Nino, and Del Carmen. For the first time ever, a female lantern maker from Brgy. San Jose led her team in the festival! Brgy. Telabastagan won the competition that year. Brgy. San Jose was second, Brgy. San Juan was third, and Brgy. San Nicolas was fourth.

In 2019, Brgy. Sta Lucia won the competition. Brgy. Calulut was second, Brgy. Del Pilar was third, and Brgy. Sindalan was fourth. Twelve barrios entered that year, making it the biggest festival since 2006.

In 2020, the main competition was canceled because of the COVID-19 virus. Instead, the lanterns were shown in an exhibition. Seven barrios joined that year. Only Brgy. Sta Lucia and Brgy. San Juan showed off new lantern designs. SMART also gave prizes for the top three favorite lanterns voted for on social media. Brgy. San Juan, Brgy. Telabastagan, and Brgy. Sta. Lucia were the top favorites.

Gallery

Barangay Telabastagan Entry (2012 Second Place Winner)
Barangay Santa Lucia Entry (2010 and 2011 Champion)
Barangay San Jose Entry (Second Place,2011 and Third Place, 2012)
Barangay Del Pilar (2012 Grand Champion)

In Popular Culture

The Giant Lantern Festival has even appeared on TV! In the 2019 show Where's Waldo?, Wally and Wenda visited San Fernando, Pampanga, to see the festival.

The festival has also been shown in popular Filipino TV shows like Biyahe ni Drew and Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.

Giant Lantern Festival facts for kids

Contents