In Christmas-mad Philippines, thousands cheered as handcrafted lanterns towering 6m high lighted up the night sky in San Fernando.
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.
Photo: AFP
Local designer Karl Quiwa, 31, said 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 COVID-19 pandemic.
The giant lanterns, submitted for competition at the festival, use 12,000 50-watt bulbs synchronized by 15km of electric cables and symbolize the Star of Bethlehem.
The massive light pieces can weigh up to a tonne, with costs soaring to 1 million pesos (US$17,020).
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 lanternmaker, Quiwa said that 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, saying 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,” said David, 41, whose entry last year won best in show.
“It’s really beautiful and shows the importance of our communities in making Christmas meaningful,” local student Ria Hipolito, 16, said as she and other members of her family watched the competition last weekend.
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 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.
“Almost all the lanternmakers here are related to each other or are friends with the others,” said Florante Parilla, 55, who has been designing the giant lanterns for 30 years.
Despite their popularity, those involved in the festival worry technology and apathy could bring the tradition to an abrupt halt — as fewer young people are learning the craft.
“We’re always on the lookout for young people to train, because nowadays, most have not shown any interest,” Parilla said.
“Most of today’s children are introverts who do not play outside and are attached to their cellphones and [computer] games. Maybe that’s the reason they cannot appreciate lanternmaking,” Quiwa said. “We may be the last of our kind.”
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
RSS