A city in Metro Manila, Parañaque has the largest lantern-making industry in the Philippines.
More lanterns called parol are made in Parañaque than anywhere else in the country.
A simple parol is made of bamboo sticks, tissue paper and cellophane in colors of red, green, blue or yellow with touches of white.
Work begins from long bamboo poles, which are cut and split into sticks. The sticks are shaped into stars and held together by fine wire. Over the star shapes, cellophane or tissue paper is pasted. Frills are added all around as the final touch.
The paper star slips over an electric light bulb which, when turned on, makes it into a delightful lantern. At Christmastime, every house hangs a lantern to show the happy spirit of the season.
Making a paper star is a simple job. Almost every Filipino child tries it at least once. In Parañaque, the starmakers learn their art as little children. They continue a family art that their parents learned from their own parents all the way down through the years.
