Giant lanterns light up Christmas in Philippines

In the Christmas-mad Philippines, thousands cheer as hand-crafted lanterns towering six metres high light up the night sky in San Fernando, northwest of the country's capital.

The dazzling display of lights, accompanied by religious and festive imagery and soundtracked by Filipino rap and Christmas carols, is part of the annual Giant Lantern Festival.

Held mid-December each year, the festival acts as a platform to highlight the region's famed lantern industry, which first started more than 100 years ago.

Local designer Karl Quiwa, 31, told reporters it takes a team of 20 over a three-month period to build a light display, adding that he sees the effort as a "religious obligation."

Quiwa's ancestors built their first piece for the inaugural 1908 festival - which has continued to this day and was only interrupted by war and the pandemic.

The giant lanterns, submitted for competition at the festival, use 12,000 50-watt bulbs synchronised by 15 kilometres of electric cables and symbolise the Star of Bethlehem.

The massive light pieces can weigh up to a tonne, with costs soaring to a million pesos ($17,000).

Smaller versions are also produced by the city's craftsmen and adorn lamp posts, office buildings and homes across the archipelago nation of 116 million which is home to Asia's largest Catholic population.

A sixth-generation descendant of San Fernando's pioneer lantern-maker, Quiwa said apart from religion, he was proud to carry on the family tradition of "cheering people up during Christmas."

Fellow designer Edmar David echoed this sentiment, telling reporters that his company sells thousands of lanterns each year - including to the country's massive overseas worker community.

"Lanterns bring cheer, light and hope. Without them, life is sad," David, 41, whose 2024 entry won best in show, said of the craft.

The lantern-making tradition evolved from nighttime processions held by Spanish friars during the 300-plus years of Madrid's colonial rule, the city government said.

"It's really beautiful and shows the importance of our communities in making Christmas meaningful," local student Ria Hipolito, 16, told reporters as she and other members of her family watched the competition last weekend.

Her uncle, Rodel Hipolito, who was attending the festival for the first time since ending a 15-year stint working in the Middle East, told reporters "lanterns are symbols that light up people's lives."

As the light show unfolded, the lantern's blindingly bright facades concealed a flurry of activity behind, as teams of people turned large metal barrels called rotors by hand to produce a kaleidoscopic effect.

Firefighters carrying extinguishers could be seen patrolling the area, as sparks flew from the rotors of at least three lanterns, journalists at the event saw.

Agence France-Presse