UP Lantern Parade
It was the University of the Philippines Lantern Parade, a yearly event that usually happens around December and is crowded and loud. The Lantern Parade was canceled in 2020 back when everyone was cautious of the coronavirus, and everyone was scared of catching the virus. And in 2021 some people were still taking precautions by not going to crowded places, but this year restrictions were more relaxed and everyone was so excited to experience the parade after so long. My parents were insistent on going because they were going to meet their college friends after such a long time, my mother kept bragging about how her major which was fine arts, always won the best parade every year, they were so good that they are not even allowed to join the competition, despite that they still make their lanterns every year.
While walking we bumped into my brother’s friend Dos Flores and his mom, they were sitting on the side of the street to get a good view, we said our hellos and went further to see some of the floats, the first float we saw was a Philippine eagle, the wings moved slightly and there was a loud band playing. We moved to another area where the students were preparing to march soon, so everyone was able to look at each float more closely, there were some cute floats, others flamboyant, and others I just didn’t understand. My mom and she reminisced about their days in college and she hopes that I will also attend U.P Diliman as she did, and she talked about the buildings around U.P and what she did during those collage days.
When the sky started to darken we went to a small place to have a quick night snack, we had some street food, which was delicious. After we left and started walking to our cars, there were still a lot of people around the stalls and waving light sticks up in the air, others were already leaving and biking. One of my mom’s friends bought my sister a Pikachu balloon which she loved. And finally, we had reached where our cars were and said our thanks and goodbyes, it was a fun experience for my first lantern parade ever since we came to the Philippines.
