Philippines Recognized as the Only Southeast Asian Christmas Destination by CNN

San Fernando, a city in the Philippines, is the only Southeast Asian destination to make CNN's list of the 15 best places to visit for Christmas this year.

Located about 2-3 hours from Metro Manila, San Fernando is a first class city and the regional center of Central Luzon and the capital of Pampanga Province. With a population of about 350,000, the city is widely known as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines".

Internationally, San Fernando is also known as the "Christmas Capital of Asia" for its Giant Lantern Festival. Held every year from mid-December to early January, the festival features large, star-shaped lanterns or parols.

Parol: The Heart of Filipino Christmas

The main attraction is the parol, a colorful electric Christmas lantern that symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem. These parols resemble psychedelic kaleidoscopes, stained glass windows, prismatic windmills, or even giant snowflakes.

As the most popular Christmas symbol in Filipino culture, the star-shaped parol is almost always seen hanging in every home during the Christmas season. Available in different colors and sizes, these lanterns represent light and hope for the Filipino people, with origins closely linked to San Fernando, the birthplace of this ornament.

San Fernando lanterns have been around since the early 1900s and have evolved from small designs to magnificent, larger-than-life creations. These lanterns are displayed during the Giant Lantern Festival, some with as many as 5,000 bulbs that light up in kaleidoscopic patterns synchronized to popular Christmas carols.

The festival attracts thousands of local and international tourists each Christmas, showcasing the beauty and uniqueness of the lanterns, which have been featured in numerous local and international media outlets.

Here's the full list of CNN Travel's "15 Best Places to Go for Christmas":

1. Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
2. Bogotá, Colombia
3. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
4. Bath, England
5. San Fernando, Philippines
6. Barcelona, Spain
7. Nairobi, Kenya
8. Nuremberg, Germany
9. Malta, Malta
10. Quebec City, Canada
11. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
12. Salzburg and Oberndorf, Austria
13. Strasbourg, France
14. Queenstown, New Zealand
15. New York City