From UP Baguio in the north to UP Mindanao in the south and even in virtual space through the UP Open University, the highlight of the holiday season in the University of the Philippines (UP) is the Lantern Parade, a community-wide celebration featuring colorful and creative floats, costumes, music and dancing, and meaningful reminders of the values that UP stands for amidst joyful holiday greetings.
The tradition began in 1922, recalling times during the Spanish period when people carried lanterns to light their way to the early morning Christmas masses or the misa de gallo. In 1934, UP President Jorge C. Bocobo institutionalized the Lantern Parade to give students “a frolicsome activity before the year ends”. The first UP Lantern Parades traversed around the old UP campus in the City of Manila, starting from the University Quadrangle, passing through Taft Avenue, Isaac Peral and Florida Streets, and culminating in front of what used to be the Engineering building, now the Court of Appeals.
Read more on the UP Lantern Parade’s history
Almost 90 years later, the UP Lantern Parades have become all that President Bocobo envisioned and more—a celebration of all that the year had brought and of hope for the coming year, represented through lanterns and performances showcasing the talents of the UP community. This year, the UP Presidential Committee on Culture and the Arts (PCCA) added a twist to the lantern-making tradition in all oft the UP constituent units (CUs) by presenting a unifying theme: “Cultural Kaleidoscope: Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Lanterns”. Awards were given for the best CU lantern as an expression of the Kalinangan Bayan, Kalingang UP campaign of the PCCA, which aims to foster the One-UP spirit while promoting cultural diversity.
Here is a rundown of Pasko sa UP 2023 and the Lantern Parades across the UP System:
UP Baguio
UP Baguio celebrated its Pasiklaban 2023 on December 18 in the form of a concert dubbed “Sumabay sa Himno ng Musika, Makiisa sa Awit ng Masa”, featuring fabulous costumes and musical performances ranging from folk-ethnic to modern pop, from chorale music to full-on dance productions. Not even the rain could dampen the heat of UP Baguio’s Pasiklaban.
UP Cebu’s Pasko sa UP on December 20 combined three big events: the Lantern Parade around the UP Cebu Grounds; the “Mr. and Ms. Kaanyag sa Pasko” coronation night organized by the UP Cebu University Student Council; and the Christmas Fellowship.
Filling the streets and campus grounds with bright lanterns and campaign calls, the UP Cebu community gathered to celebrate the annual Pasko sa UP. The event commenced with a lantern parade around Gorordo Avenue, where the four academic federations and the University administration showed their artistry and holiday spirit through their respective floats.
UP Diliman
Always an event that draws crowds from the general public, UP Diliman’s Paligsahan at Parada ng mga Parol for 2023 was no different. With the theme, “Panibagong Lakas”, the administrative and academic units of UP Diliman and the UP System participated in the parade to showcase their lanterns. At the end, the College of Architecture took first prize in the lantern-making competition, with the College of Science in second place, and the College of Social Work and Community Development in third. Honorable mentions were the lanterns created by the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Engineering. Meanwhile, the much- anticipated lanterns of the College of Fine Arts included the lanterns titled Pusit (first place), Butanding (second place), Pangolin (third place), and Tamaraw (fourth place). For the PCCA’s lantern-making competition, on the other hand, the winning lantern was created by the College of Home Economics.
Text by the UP Diliman Information Office.
(Photo by Misael Bacani, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Misael Bacani, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Misael Bacani, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
(Photo by Kevin Christian Roque, UPMPRO)
Watch the replay of the livestream.
Equally anticipated was the annual Christmas community concert of the UP Symphony Orchestra (UPSO), which has become a tradition for the UP Diliman community since the UPSO’s founding in 2018. Titled “Tayo na Giliw! Konsyertong Pamasko ng UPSO”, the concert was held on December 19 in a packed UP Theatre, also featuring: soprano Stefanie Quintin; mezzo soprano and UP Concert Chorus conductor Janet Sabas-Aracama; tenor Malvin Beethoven Macasaet; and baritone Lawrence Ayuro Jatayna; plus the voices of the newly established UPSO Chorus, with Noemi Binag as musical director. The evening was capped off with lively community singing and no less than four encores by the UPSO.
Watch the replay of the concert.
UP Los Baños
UP Los Baños celebrated “Liwanag ng Bayan: #PaskongUPLB2023” with a week-long series of events, as its academic units and organizations took turns offering the UPLB community various parties and musical performances to celebrate the holidays.
Following the launch of the UPLB Christmas Bazaar on December 7, the College of Arts and Sciences held Local Vocals on December 11. The College of Agriculture and Food Science, along with its academic and research units, staged its own version of Showtime on December 13. The College of Forestry and Natural Resources, College of Public Affairs (CPAf), College of Veterinary Medicine, and the units under the Office of the Chancellor organized “Isang Gabi ng Himig at Indak” on December 14. On December 15, the College of Human Ecology, College of Development Communication, and School of Environmental Science and Management held their UPLB Christmas Nights at Baker Hall, featuring the band, Lynde. On December 16, the College of Development Communication, College of Human Ecology, and School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) hosted the last day of the week-long festivities of #PaskongUPLB2023 at Baker Hall on December 16 with a UPLB Cosplay Santa Experience.
The 2023 UP Manila Lantern Parade was held on December 15, with the theme, “Puno ng Pag-asa, Makulay na Pasko sa UP Manila 2023”. The parade began at the UP Philippine General Hospital (UP PGH) Oblation Plaza, and featured a lantern-making and cheer performance competition among the different academic and research units of UP Manila, as well as the awarding ceremonies for the building facade and Christmas tree decoration contests.
UP Mindanao
UP Mindanao celebrated the holidays on December 21 with Kasadya 2023, which had the theme, “Duyog: Pagdala sa diwa sa pagpahinungod ngadto sa komunidad” (Bringing the spirit of Oblation to the community). Kasadya 2023 featured several fun activities that showed off the skills and creativity of UPMin’s students, faculty, staff and administrators: the Parolan Competition; the Christmas Carol and Dance Competition where UPMin constituents were encouraged to emulate the iconic styles of music artists from different decades; the Building Decoration competition awarding ceremony; and the UPMin community Christmas Party.
The festivities in UPMin kicked off with the December 15 “Pailaw”, a ceremonial lighting of the Oblation Plaza.
Watch the highlight reel of UPMin’s “Pailaw”.
In her Christmas video message, Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao highlighted UP Mindanao’s achievements in bringing the spirit of the Oblation to their community. “The biggest lesson for me this Christmas season is that the greatest gift we can offer is ourselves—the dedication to serve, the willingness to empathize, and the commitment to uplift others,” she said.
UP Open University
The UP Open University (UPOU) featured the lanterns that participated in the PCCA’s lantern-making competition, and the three that took the prize as the best representations of the theme, “Culture Kaleidoscope: Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Lanterns”. As befit the pioneer institution in distance education and open learning in the Philippines, the award-winning lanterns made by the members of the UPOU community incorporated IT and promoted UPOU’s core value of pushing for open education for all.
Read about the three innovative lanterns of UPOU.
Watch the replay of the livestream of UPOU’s 27th Commencement Exercises.
UP Tacloban
The UP Tacloban, the University’s newest autonomous college, heated things up in downtown Tacloban during its Paskuhan ha UP 2023 celebration, with its lantern parade held on December 15. Aside from various student formations showcasing their floats which expressed their organization’s character and values, there were a street dance competition, Christmas carol-singing competition, and presentation of the UP Tacloban’s best lanterns, floats and Christmas ornaments—events appropriately titled Paskorus, Paskulay, and Paskunday.
Watch highlights from Paskuhan sa UP 2023 by UP Vista, the UP Tacloban student publication.
UP Tacloban’s students also celebrated Paskuhan ha UP 2023 with the theme, “Lamrag ha Kasisidman: Kadasig ha Militansya, paglaum nga matatad-an ha kada tagsa; Iskolar ng Bayan, sulong para han kamurayawan!” As a Facebook post from the UP Student Council stated: “Christmas is the season where hope is rekindled and this year’s Paskuhan aims to shed light on the hope we find within our fellow Iskolar ng Bayan, which is the spirit of militant solidarity. Despite the continued attacks on many progressive individuals and groups, we must never falter in resisting, opposing, and standing against all forms of state fascism–measures that trample on our fundamental and democratic rights. This Yuletide season, may we be reminded of the struggles championed by the united front of students and the people in the face of social crises and political unrest as we continue to fight for the genuine attainment of peace in our country whose solution rests on our continued unity and collective action.”
Photos by the UP Tacloban student organization, UP Halcyon
The UP Visayas lantern parade once again brought together UPV constituents in a colorful showcase of creativity and ingenuity on December 20 at the Miagao campus, capping UPV’s Paskua 2023 celebration.
Members of the faculty, University administrators, staff, students, parents, and alumni joined the long line of the parade, which convened at the open grounds fronting the New Admin and the Old SOTECH buildings. The parade participants joined their respective Colleges or units, and at the forefront was Chancellor Clement Camposano, who was joined by the Central Admin personnel. The Central Admin was followed by the different academic units of UPV, the alumni, and University-wide student organizations.
Guided by the theme, “Hilway nga Pagpanakayon Padulong sa Malipayon kag Mahidaiton nga Paskwa”, competing colleges highlighted their respective big lanterns, handheld lanterns, and lantern parade performances. The parade ended at the UPV Covered Court, the venue of the Christmas program.
The program opened with an electrifying production number that showcased mascots and dancers from the various competing groups. Chancellor Camposano gave his Christmas message prior to the community dinner.
Special performances from Alpha Phi Omega, UPV Intermedius, UPV Choristers, UP Daebak, UP Khoryu, and UP Rhapsody entertained everyone throughout the program. A UPV Sing and Dance Caroling Contest was also one of the highlights of the evening, as was the presentation of the Christmas Tree of Hope, which aims to raise funds for a noble cause.
Text by GT Mabilog, UPV Information and Publications Office
Photos by Gian Genoveza