The Philippine Parol

In the Philippines when the holiday season comes, one would usually see the parol in every street and home here in the country. The parol is a Christmas lantern made locally in the Philippines. It is the most common Christmas decor among small houses, big houses, establishments and even in streets.

The parol is easily made, one can use a couple a small bamboo sticks with a piece of plastic and you can make an elegant parol. If I remembered right, I made a couple of parols during my grade school years. The parol differs in color depending on the mood of the maker, which for him/her describes best the season of Christmas. Aside from the color, the parol also differs in different sizes, from the sizes that fit your palm to giant sizes place on giant Christmas trees and on tall buildings.

The shape of the parol is base and inspired by the nativity cross which appeared on the very first Christmas. Filipinos also believe that the parol brings hope and goodwill during the Christmas season. The structure of the parol has evolve during the years, from the simple forms years ago, to the complicated ones being made now a days. So the next time you see a parol you might think that the Christmas season is near and you are in the lovely Philippines.