The Spanish priests of old in the Philippines might have walked around the villages at night to appreciate the candle-lit lanterns by the windows of their parishioners, and appreciated the beautiful symbol of the stars that led the three wise men to baby Jesus. The Christmas parol was originally intented as one's offering to glorify the Lord. It was an important part of the devotion to faithfully attend the 9-day Misa de Aguinaldo, to petition for special favors. After coming home from church, instead of stowing the lantern elsewhere in the house from church, they would illuminate their parols with candles or coconut-oil lamps to display their art. Certainly there must have been friendly reminders to promptly blow out the lights before they go to bed.
The villagers would walk around to appreciate the work of others and see who had the nicest design. When new stylistic variations appeared, such as different kind of tassels, steamers, or crowns around it, others would innovate their own creations and make palns to display their better parol the following year. This friendly competition was encoureaged by the church and the Spanish priests offered incentives for the people to invest time and money to make their parol the best as devotional offering to Jesus Christ. That is why during the Christmas season, some made it a practice to visit various churches that yearly display these new designs and better craftsmanship.
Today the parol is a main component in the Filipino celebration of Christmas which has become a Festival of Lights. The festivities cover the months ending with BER. Christmas music can be heard sporadically in the beginning of September and one could feel an increasing sense of the coming Christmas as more and more Christmas songs are played on the radio, and as more homes, businesses, streets and parks become brightly lit with wonderful colors. The mall and department stores are the first ones to decorate and showcase their managers and beautiful parol.
The villagers would walk around to appreciate the work of others and see who had the nicest design. When new stylistic variations appeared, such as different kind of tassels, steamers, or crowns around it, others would innovate their own creations and make palns to display their better parol the following year. This friendly competition was encoureaged by the church and the Spanish priests offered incentives for the people to invest time and money to make their parol the best as devotional offering to Jesus Christ. That is why during the Christmas season, some made it a practice to visit various churches that yearly display these new designs and better craftsmanship.
Today the parol is a main component in the Filipino celebration of Christmas which has become a Festival of Lights. The festivities cover the months ending with BER. Christmas music can be heard sporadically in the beginning of September and one could feel an increasing sense of the coming Christmas as more and more Christmas songs are played on the radio, and as more homes, businesses, streets and parks become brightly lit with wonderful colors. The mall and department stores are the first ones to decorate and showcase their managers and beautiful parol.
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