RP lanterns new attraction in Vienna Christmas market

Philippine Christmas lanterns (Parols) made in Pampanga province would be a regular attraction at Vienna, Austria. Philippine ambassador to Austria Linglingay Lacanlale has reported that the Vienna City government had agreed to make the Philippine Parol display a regular feature of Vienna’s Christmas market. Lacanlale announced the city government’s decision at the ceremonial lighting of the lanterns at a special Philippine tree at the City Hall square. Sixty colorful Philippine Christmas lanterns were lit on Nov. 19 at the special “Philippine tree," the Department of Foreign Affairs reported on Friday. Lacanlale and Vienna City Councilor Elisabeth Vitouch led the lighting of the Pampanga-made parols. Members of the diplomatic corps, the Philippine honorary consular officers in Austria and officials of the Vienna City Government, the Austrian media, members of the Filipino community, and the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market) crowd and shoppers witnessed the Parol-lighting ceremony. In keeping with Philippine Christmas traditions, the ceremony was followed by a reception featuring Philippine Christmas delicacies, including ginger tea and rice cakes. The event is a joint project of the Philippine Embassy in Vienna and the Vienna City government, with the support of San Fernando City government and the Filipino community in Vienna. A separate Parol display featuring 30 Pampanga lanterns was inaugurated in the historic Austrian city of Salzburg last Thursday, the DFA said. Christkindlmarkt is a popular and centuries-old Austrian Christmas tradition that attracts millions of visitors, including foreign tourists. In Austria, the largest Christmas markets and most popular are those sponsored by the governments of Vienna and Salzburg. The Philippine Embassy first introduced the Philippine Parol into Viennese Christian traditions in 2006, when it opened a Parol exhibit at a prominent Viennese Palmenhaus (tropical greenhouse) in an event that also commemorated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Philippines-Austrian diplomatic relations. The Philippine Parols will remain on display at the Rathaus grounds until Dec. 24. - GMANews.TV