The Manila Broadcasting Company has put up P100,000 for the grand prize winner of this year’s parol-making competition, aptly dubbed “Ilaw ng Pasko.” There’s no greater symbol of the Filipino Christmas spirit than the parol. All through the Christmas season, star-shaped lanterns can be found hanging outside homes and along the streets of cities and small provincial towns, farms and fishing villages. For Filipinos, making a parol, decorating one and lighting a parol is an expression of shared faith and hope.
Traditionally made from simple materials like bamboo sticks and rice paper, with a candle or coconut oil-lamp for illumination, the present-day Filipino parol has taken different shapes and forms. We see some made of plastic for durability, or capiz shell for elegance. In the city of San Fernando, spectacularly innovative 20-foot parols with kaleidoscopic blinking lights are paraded through the streets on truck beds.
MBC’s Ilaw ng Pasko lantern-making competition now seeks to give new meaning to the art of illumination and environmental consciousness by requiring participants to make use of recycling techniques mixed with traditional folk craft. Entries must be between six and 10 feet as measured from both extremities, including trimmings. Entries must utilize energy-saving bulbs and must not incorporate pyrotechnics nor hazardous materials. Lanterns must be able to withstand indoor and outdoor conditions for the duration of the Christmas season.
Deadline for submission of entries is Dec. 5. For complete contest mechanics and to secure a registration form, call Ellen Fullido at 6800-3405 / 832-6240 / 832-6283 or e-mail lnfullido@mbcradio.net.