Ang Parol ng Pasko (Star)
It’s time for Day 21 of @silentlyfangirlingselfshipper’s A Very Shippy Christmas event and today’s main theme is all about Stars. And that means more Pinoy culture info and Issa headcanon dumping time for you all because I will be talking about the ever mighty Parol. Let’s go! Also, I dare you to listen to this classic Christmas song courtesy of ABS-CBN (her home network) linked here while reading this, enjoy listening to Filipino everyone.
For beginners, the parol comes from the Spanish farol which means lantern. Another but lesser known origin of its name and lanterns as a whole in the Filipino language is partiaán. And no, don’t mistake this for parole: different meanings and purposes.
The Parols’ history can be traced back to 1908 from the 5 pointed star lanterns made by artisan Francisco Estanislao out of bamboo strips covered in Japanese paper and lit with a candle or a little thing called calcium carbide (CaC2) or kalburo. These were made for people living in the barrios to light their way during Misa de Gallo, the last of Simbang Gabi since there was no electricity where they lived at the time. Since then, Parols appearing in houses and on the streets on September, along with Christmas songs from the radio and Christmas decor being in stores among many things, usually signals the arrival of Christmas in the Philippines.
Like I have said the Tradition entry, the parols are meant to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem that guided the 3 Wise Kings to Jesus in the stables in the Bible and they still serve the same purpose they have done a century ago during Simbang Gabi. These guys usually get removed after January 6, the day of Epiphany. Even schools, communities, and groups take parol making very seriously that they will hold parol making contests during the season.
Traditionally, parols are normally crafted with bamboo strips and either Japanese paper or crepe paper in the form of the 5 pointed star with 2 ‘tails’ on the lower points, but nowadays, you can make parols out of plastic bottles, cans, shells, beads, feathers, straws, seeds, wood, glass, foil paper, hemp, and metal & they can appear in other forms like angels, snowflakes, sea urchins, roses, Santa, reindeer, smiley faces, and Christmas trees. They can range in sizes from small to huge ones you can find in the Giant Lantern Festival in Pampanga. Recently, Pampanga has experimenting with electronic lights, such as LED rope lights that can allow some parols to perform light dances. Some parols even have surrounding ‘halos’ around them.
Issa learned how to make parols from her grandmother Lorena Santiago when she was a young girl (she in turn got to learn to make them in a workshop session in Pampanga) and she would often make small parols as gifts to friends, family and fellow co-workers for Christmas. And in return, she has passed on the knowledge of parol making to me and Kairi once we became the best of friends during high school.
She tried to teaching Harry how to make them as he tried to teach her magic, but alas, it turns that Harry is terrible at it much as she is terrible in doing magic. Yikes!
Once December arrives, we bring out the parols for everyone to gaze at their lovely beauty. There are also times where me, Kairi, and Issa had to make more parols than needed because the neighbors, despite the fact that some of them aren’t Filipinos, are beginning to want to have them in their homes as well. Nice that they are starting to appreciate them a lot, which makes her very happy indeed.
Trust me, I try to convince her to host parol making workshops in the city or even the Westlake neighborhood like what artist Fred Deasis is doing in Chicago with the local Filipino community there, but Issa declines my suggestions every single time I bring them up to her because she didn’t think taht there would be a big interest for these workshops in Daly City. Still, it would be super cool if she did.
