Philippines glows in the lights of 'The Giant Lantern Festival' before Christmas

The Giant Lantern Festival is an annual festival held in December in the City of San Fernando in the Philippines.

The Giant Lantern Festival is an annual festival held in December in the City of San Fernando in the Philippines. The city has been nicknamed as the 'Christmas Capital of the Philippines'. (Photo| AP) 

People compete with one another to build the biggest lanterns. The festival draws a large number of tourist because of its popularity. In pic: A man stands on scaffolding made to easily work on huge giant lanterns measuring 20 feet in diameter. (Photo| AP)

The lanterns stand as tall as 20 feet and illuminated by about 3,500 to 5,000 light bulbs. In pic: A lantern maker works on the wiring of a giant lantern. (Photo| AP)

Villagers come together to participate in the competition and these lanterns are a symbol of unity for the villagers. (Photo| AP)

The lights are controlled by individual switches that are turned on and off following the beat of the music. In pic: A group of lantern makers turn several steel cylinders by hand to manipulate the thousands of light bulbs in a single giant lantern.(Photo| AP)

A giant lantern that reads-'Bangon Marawi,' or Rise Marawi, to honor the southern Philippine city sieged by Islamic State-allied militants this year. (Photo| AP)

Lantern maker Teddy Aguilar draws wiring patterns on steel cylinders used to manually manipulate the light in each giant lantern. (Photo| AP)

This year ten villages in Pampanga province took part in an annual giant lantern competition, proudly showcasing huge elaborate lanterns for everyone to see. (Photo| AP)

The giant lantern creatively led by master lantern maker Teddy Aguilar once again, for the fourth consecutive time, took home the championship trophy. (Photo| AP)

Lantern makers work on traditional Christmas lanterns locally known as 'parols' in a side street shop in Manila, Philippines. These small lanterns traditionally decorate many Filipino homes during the Christmas holidays. (Photo | AP)