Giant Lantern Festival

The parol is the star-shaped Christmas lantern hung outside Filipino houses, and San Fernando in Pampanga makes the largest ones in the country - the city has called itself the Christmas capital since the tradition took hold in the early twentieth century. For the festival, barangays build lanterns up to six metres across, structures of steel frame and fibreglass carrying thousands of bulbs, and compete on a single night in mid-December. What makes them extraordinary is the mechanism: the lights are switched in sequence to music by a rotor system of hand-wired steel drums and contacts, a technique developed locally decades ago and still built by hand, so the patterns chase and pulse across the lantern in time with the score. The competition runs late into the night at a mall grounds or arena, and the lanterns are displayed for days afterwards. Pampanga is also the country's acknowledged food province, which is the other reason to make the trip.

What you actually see

• The giant parol - lanterns metres across in competition.
• The light choreography - patterns chasing in time with music.
• The rotor mechanism - the hand-built switching system behind it.
• The barangay contingents - neighbourhood teams and their supporters.

When to go

Mid-December, usually the Saturday before Christmas Eve - confirm the date and venue with the city, as both change. Arrive early for a view.

Honest expectations

The competition runs very late and the venue is crowded. Traffic from Manila into San Fernando is heavy that weekend. Grandstand tickets are limited; general viewing means standing.

Nearby

Betis Church and San Guillermo at Bacolor are nearby; Clark and the balloon fiesta grounds are north.