In the Philippines, Christmas Starts with Paról.
Whenever I hear Christmas carolers ringing out the “12 Days of Christmas,” I can’t help but think what if there were a Filipino version of this song?
I chuckle because not a single Filipino I’ve met would be satisfied with just 12 days of Christmas. Not when they know Christmas really starts on September 1st.
I believe my greatest and most pleasant culture shock in the Philippines was walking out of the scorching tropical heat and humidity into a heavily air-conditioned mall adorned with the most sensational Christmas decorations and blasting Mari Chan through the speakers. I wouldn’t have blinked in December, but this is all happening before summer break has ended in much of the West, and at least two major holidays appear to have been axed.
But of all the fantastic and festive decorations that fill the cities and provinces during the lead-up to the biggest holiday of the year, sorry Easter, there is one that is synonymous with Filipino Christmas; the Five-Pointed Filipino Paról Star. In honor of this historic symbol of heritage, FACCGN will host their 2nd Parol-Making contest holding an award and display celebration on Dec 18 and is inviting everyone to show off their family's homemade Paról design for a chance to win up to $300. To really appreciate the symbolic relationship Filipino Christmas lanterns have with family and holidays you are welcome to read on about how the beautiful paról came into being and spread around the globe.
History of the Filipino Christmas Lantern
During the Catholic conversion of Filipinos under the 320-year occupation by the Spanish, the nine-day Christmas Novena procession was held. The Panunulúyan pageant was a huge part of the religious ceremonies dedicated to the celebration of the birth of Christ every December. This reenactment of Joseph and the Virgin Mary looking for lodging leading up to the birth of Jesus had the actors in the pageant carry Japanese paper lanterns and candles. After the procession, the lanterns were hung as decorations outside of their homes.
The name Paról From Faról, the Spanish word for lantern, was given to these rectangular and oblong decorations of bamboo and white Japanese paper. But as Filipinos found their own voice in catholic traditions and began to create paróls of their own they appeared in various shapes and colors, each lantern unique to every household and portraying several religious symbols.
Over time, the paról became synonymous with Christmas in the Philippines as underscored in a letter by José Rizal in 1893. While he was in exile in Dapitan, Rizal asked his family to send him Japanese paper so he might "celebrate Christmas properly.” Eventually, the five-pointed shape we celebrate today, based on the star of Bethlehem, became the country standard during the American colonial period.
In 1908 an artisan from Pampanga named Francisco Estanislao allegedly crafted the first five-pointed star-shaped paról. The traditional candle or coconut oil-fired lanterns gave way to modern light spectacles as the first battery-operated paróls with incandescent bulbs were produced in the 1940s. Then in 1957, paróls with rotor systems were invented by the lantern-maker Rodolfo David who used rotating steel drums with wires on hairpins to program the lights and music. Rodolfo’s design became the bases for the flashing paróls that line every street all Christmas long and proclaim family and fiesta.
What Does Paról Mean to Filipinos Abroad
“The Philippines' greatest export is its workers,” is a succinct way to describe what Filipinos contribute most to the world and their own country. It is also a statement that means over 2 million OFW (overseas foreign workers) will spend Christmas away from friends, family, and faith. When most of the world is taking holiday vacations and spending time together millions of Filipinos are spread out all over the world thinking of loved ones back home while enduring their labor of love alone.
The Philippine paról then, this universal symbol of Christmas for Filipinos everywhere, becomes an obvious rallying point and its importance and unifying properties cannot be overstated. With over 12 million Filipinos living abroad, five-pointed star lanterns can be seen around the globe all through the holiday season and announce to OFWs everywhere that Christmas has finally arrived back home.
Christmas Stars in the Desert
Like the famed star the paról’s design is based upon, the lantern’s arrival here today involved a long journey through the desert. While the appearance of battery-operated paróls is more recent and equally exciting, the original occurrence of Christmas paper lanterns is much earlier. The farolitos, aka luminaria, of the southwestern US are derived from the Filipino paról as brought over via the Manila galleons. As New Spain was being populated and colonized this classic Filipino Christmas symbol was also disseminated through the culture and holidays.
In recent years Filipinos have flocked to the west including Las Vegas in ever-increasing numbers bringing with them their long-suffering, tenacious, and jolly attitudes, ambitious entrepreneurial spirit, and festive Filipino Christmas decorations. Today, the Filipino paról can be seen outside homes, hanging from businesses, and inside supermarkets all over the valley. The next time you are driving or shopping and see a beautiful flashing five-pointed paról remember that Christmas has blessedly arrived for Filipinos and their brethren here, and across the world. Maligayang Pasko!