CLARK FREEPORT—Pampanga’s capital, the City of San Fernando (CSF), is now the “Home of the Giant Lanterns” as it veered away from its moniker—the Christmas Capital of the Philippines.
City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan made the statement here on Monday as she announced that the Giant Lantern Festival 2019 will be on December 14, which, incidentally, is also the 500th year countdown to March 1521, the year Lapu-Lapu defeated Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan following the “discovery” of the Philippines.
She also said the city’s vision is also a model city of countryside development by 2020.
“The home of the giant lanterns is rooted in our culture and tradition,” Pangilinan said.
“We veered away from the Christmas Capital title because there are a lot of cities that are claiming to be the Christmas capital, although no less than CNN has proclaimed San Fernando as the Christmas capital of Asia,” she explained.
“But we would rather focus on the Home of the Giant Lantern because this is something that is really intrinsic and the true image of our city,” she added.
Pangilinan said part of the development agenda of Mayor Edwin “Edsa” D. Santiago is “Agenda No. 9, Kultura at Turismo [culture and tourism].”
“We recognized lantern making and the Giant Lantern Festival as parts of our intangible cultural heritage,” Pangilinan said.
For this year’s Giant Lantern Festival 2019, Pangilinan said the city is marking 11 years of lantern-making excellence.
Pangilinan said the CSF’s lantern tradition dates back to the city’s colonial history since Pampanga used to be an Augustinian province founded by the Order of the Augustinians.
For this year, Pangilinan said, 12 barangays will join the Giant Lantern Festival.
Meanwhile, Pangilinan said from December 15 to 21 the giant lanterns will still be at Robinson’s Starmills, while on December 22 the giant lanterns will be at Essel Park at Telabastagan.
She added that on December 23 the giant lanterns will be displayed at Greenfields in Sindalan and December 24 at the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is the essence of the “Ligligan Parul.”
On Christmas Day the lanterns will be back at the Robinsons Starmills until January but will also be displayed for two days at Marquee Mall in Angeles City.