Around this time of year, in addition to your typical Christmas lights and ornaments, Filipinos traditionally hang up another decoration: the parol. It’s a brightly lit, star-shaped lantern that’s usually about two feet across. The most common design is a five-pointed star with two tassels, but parols can have up to eight points and come in all kinds of colors.
Historically, the parol originated after Spain colonized the Philippines in 1565. The very first parols looked similar to early Chinese paper lanterns, made out of rice paper and bamboo sticks.
“When the Spanish came, we adapted the lanterns for Catholic traditions,” says Marcie Taylor, board secretary from the nonprofit FilAm Arts. The term “parol” evolved from the Spanish word for lantern, “farol.”
The star-shaped parol represents the Star of Bethlehem that guided the three wise men to baby Jesus, but for the millions of Filipinos in America, including the 500,000 in Los Angeles, the parol also represents a beacon back to their roots in the Philippines.
“Being in America, it's like a symbol of home,” says Taylor. “Because when you see it lit up, it just sends you back home.”
Marcie Taylor (center) stands with her fellow FilAm Arts board members, chairperson Alvin Catacutan (left) and executive director Giselle Tongi (right). Photo by Celine Mendiola.
Originally, the first parols were made out of bamboo and paper. Nowadays, modern parols are crafted from capiz shells – windowpane oyster shells that give a translucent glow when electric lights shine through.
Capiz shells are more readily available in the Philippines, so as a result, most modern-day parols are imported. In Filipino grocery stores like Island Pacific, a 28-inch capiz shell parol can cost around $300.
Rudy Flores stands at his booth at the Parol Festival, adorned by all kinds of wooden parols, big and small. Photo by Celine Mendiola.
However, more affordable options are out there. Some local businesses, like Created By Rudy, use different materials to make parols. Owner Rudy Flores specializes in wooden ornaments and parols of all shapes and sizes. Some are as small as your palm, and can be hung on your Christmas tree. Others are large enough to be hung at your window, and have electric lights attached to them.
Flores handcrafts each parol by himself. “I draw everything out on the computer. And then, I laser-cut it from there, and paint it, and hand assemble it,” he says.
Yet, his largest parol sells for $165. That’s why Flores’ parols frequently sell out on Etsy.
Giselle Tongi shows off the DIY parol she made during her workshop. Photo by Celine Mendiola.
Another way to get a parol for less is to make your own. You can easily follow tutorials online – or you can go to events that hold workshops to demonstrate how to create them.
For example, the second annual Eagle Rock Parol Festival on December 9, which was also organized by FilAm Arts, highlighted the many different ways a Filipino can celebrate the parol.
“What we're hoping to do with the festival is just to introduce another aspect of Filipino culture to third generation, second generation … and showing them how you can incorporate an element of Filipino Christmas in your home, wherever you are in the world,” Taylor said at the event.
At this year’s festival, FilAm Arts Executive Director Giselle Tongi ran workshops to teach this craft to kids — using tissue paper (“papel de hapon” in the Philippines) and bamboo.
“A parol is special, isn't it?” Tongi said to the children. “Because when you put a parol in your window, everyone knows you're Filipino, even if you're in America.”
For Flores, the parol guides him back to his family as well. “My best memory is my dad trying to make one out of pool noodles,” he says. “He … hung it on our roof, like right outside the window. I think he still has it to this day.”
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