Pang Bahay Filipino Blog
Parol
All our Christmas parols are individually hand crafted in the Philippines. We have hand picked each maker and have worked closely with them to deliver only the best products.
Our parols are made of capiz shell. Although these shells are a very thin material, they are surprisingly sturdy. Unless of course you man-handle the product then it’s bound to break! The panes are translucent and allow light to pass through it making it a great material for a window or door as was common in old-world Philippines. Capiz shell was used to make a farol or lantern to light the way to Simbang Gabi. From there, the traditional parol was born.
How to make a parol
You start by washing the raw capiz in a tumbler. This cleansing method also brings a nice sheen to the panes.
Each piece is….
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Filipino Stuff
Time has certainly flown for us here at PangBahay. We can hardly believe that we’re now entering our 3rd Christmas season selling parols. We’ve grown tremendously with the support of our many friends out there! Thank you!
We always planned on expanding our products from just seasonal Christmas items to more everyday, year-round products. On a recent trip to the Philippines in search of new products, we met some really exciting people with businesses big and small and we’re looking forward to launching some of their great pieces.
We’ve found beautiful pieces of hand carved wood from the mountain region, shells from Cebu and many book titles to introduce our Filipino culture to the younger generation. All the pieces are traditional Filipiñana, reminiscent of growing up in the Philippines and most importantly, they are all made in the Philippines. Look….
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Filipino Food
We all love lechon. We’ll see it parties, in people’s homes, at a fiesta, a restaurant and so on. But an airport luggage carousel? To see a lechon boxed up and sweeping past in the airport’s luggage conveyor belt was a new one for me. Every region has their own lechon specialty and claim to fame. Cebuano’s take such great pride in their lechon and judging by the number of lechons that arrived on our flight from Cebu to Manila, I’d say many people think so too!
While we were in the Philippines traveling around to look for new inventory, we were in and out of airports quite a bit. We didn’t see this happen at any other airport but in Manila returning from our jaunt to Cebu. I asked the guys at the airport and sure enough they said….
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Filipino Food
I’m from the Visayas so we call it budbud but others call it suman. Either way, it’s sticky rice rolled in a banana leaf. It’s tasty with a hint of some ingredient…. hmmm???
This is what I had for breakfast one morning, budbud! Not only that, it was the striped kind with chocolate! Oh my! Be still my heart. Thinking about it now makes me want some more.
Dip the budbud in some sugar and wash it down with some chocolate, the real chocolate made from tablea. Pair that up with some sweet juicy mangoes and you’re in heaven!
This reminded me of being a kid and going to church with my lola, my great-grandmother actually. On our way home, we would stop and buy some budbud from the food vendors at the church. Then we would take it home….
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Filipino Food
Other than empanadas which is a self-contained meal in itself, Filipino barbeque must have been one of the earliest “to-go” food invented. Meat on a stick and puso, which is rice wrapped up in leaves, makes for perfect to-go food.
We went on an island hopping trip in Cebu. While we stopped to snorkel around, the crew cooked up our barbeque on board the boat. On a little grill, they had pork, chicken and squid making some lovely mouth-watering scents drawing us out of the water for a lunch break.
Of course, Filipino barbeque isn’t complete without rice. Puso, also known as hanging rice, is an easy way to transport rice for any meal. Coconut or pandan leaves (I’m not sure which) are woven into a diamond shape, which they fill with uncooked rice before cooking.
Puso also means heart….
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Parol
Now that you’ve purchased your capiz parol, you want to make sure that it stays in good condition for a long time. Capiz parols are made of delicate material and can easily be damaged by the elements.
Consider the placement of your capiz parol before hanging it. You want it to be sheltered as much as possible from the wind (it can get knocked around and damage the capiz panes and/or the bulbs can go out), rain and snow can damage not only the capiz panes but also the metal siding. Try to keep your capiz parol indoors as much as possible. Or, if you’d like to take it outside, keep it in plastic. You also have to make sure that the capiz parol isn’t placed where it can be harmed by strong wind, rain or snow.
We would recommend….
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Parol
Your parol light is out and now you’re wondering how to change it. It’s easier than you think.
PangBahay’s capiz parols all use standard night light bulbs because they’re easy to find (grocery, convenience or hardware stores carry these bulbs), easy to replace and they only use 4watts.
Here’s how you change a bulb.
Unplug your parol.
Open the back cover of the parol. The back cover is secured using standard screws.
Find the non-functioning light. Test the light first, it might just be loose. Tighten it, and see if that works.
If the light is burned out, replace with a new night light.
Replace the back cover and secure it with the screws.
Plug your capiz parol and enjoy!
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Parol
The capiz parols of PangBahay come from Pampanga where generations of capiz parol makers have lived. The Filipino capiz parols we offer are not made in factories, but in people’s homes or community buildings. The capiz parol makers are family-owned businesses employing their neighbors during peak times making it a source of much needed income for a number of families.
Capiz parols are well-known not only in the Philippines but the world over as Filipinos have migrated just about everywhere!
It’s amazing how such a beautiful capiz parol comes from a simple shell which comes naturally in white.
These shells are hand cut to specific size panes for each parol.
The panes are painted individually by hand.
The capiz pieces are held together by a thin piece of metal (also hand cut) and soldered together to form the shape of….
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Filipino Stuff
A result of the Filipino’s ingenuity, the Philippine tricycle ferries passengers to just about anywhere and to roads that may not even be accessible to other forms of transportation. Because of its small size, it can weave in and out of small streets easily and safely. It can carry as many as six grown ups, including the driver. The tricycle is powered by an ordinary motorcycle attached to a small but comfortable sidecar.
Check out our tricycle here.
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Filipino Stuff
The Philippine jeepney is a Filipino innovation of the GI surplus jeep during the 1940s. The unique vehicle was the answer to the country’s scarcity of transportation after the war. It has the same strong engine of a U.S. Army jeep but was resized and converted into a public utility vehicle. A typical jeepney would usually accommodate 20-30 commuting passengers.
The result was a time enduring vehicle with a remarkable combination of Filipino ingenuity and creativity in the midst of the post-war crisis. In terms of appearance, no jeepney is exactly the same. Each jeepney was designed with well-detailed artworks elaborately displayed on its bodies and even in the vehicles interior. Every single one has its own unique design and is usually given touches often reflective of a common-man’s sentiments of the time.
Today, the Philippine….
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