San Jose

The City of San Fernando is the capital of Pampanga province and is also popularly known as the ‘Christmas Capital of the Philippines’. Every year, there is a Giant Lantern Festival that is organized over here from December 16 to 24 in which different communities participate against each other by building different types of lamps and commemorating it in a superb show of light and music. The festival is a popular attraction during the nine days of Christmas as people pour in large numbers to witness the spectacle. The initial tradition of the festival began somewhere around 1908 but the present version of it evolved during the 1930s when electricity made its way into the city. However, the motto of the festival is unity among its different neighbourhoods through different lanterns. Some other facts related to the Giant Lantern Festival and the city, in particular, are also discussed here for a general understanding.