This forerunner of the present-day Giant Lantern Festival was a religious activity that we know today as “lubenas”, a nine-day novena before Christmas, which coincided with the “simbang gabi” from December 16 to 24. 

The lanterns used these days are only about 61cm in diameter, a far cry from the 457cm diameter of the lanterns seen today in the festival.

The festival also featured a “Ligligan Parul” (Lantern Competition) held after the capital of Pampanga province was moved from Bacolor to San Fernando in August 1904. This was the precursor to the giant parol lantern competition

It was in 1931 that electricity was introduced to the San Fernando lantern, thus sparking the birth of the first Giant Lantern Festival. The added illusion of dancing lights highlighted the bright colors and intricate designs of these Giant Lanterns. At this time, the lights were controlled by individual switches that were turned on and off following the beat of the music. The barangays of Del Pilar, Sta. Lucia and San Jose were among the first barangays to participate in the festival.

At first, lanterns were made from bamboo and had a switch to turn the music on and off to the beat of the music. In replacement of bamboo, the lantern makers weld together a steel frame, which follows the design itself. The frame is the lined with cardboard and foil followed by another enormous task, placing the over 5,000 light bulbs in their places and wiring them up together using hundreds of yards of electrical wires.

Large steel barrels called rotors also replaced the hand-controlled switches to maneuver the lights. Strips of masking tape on this rotors establish the sequence of the switching on and off of the lights. Hairpins, attached to the end of the wires leading to each bulb, connect the lights to the rotor, which in turn, is connected to the source of electricity.

According to giantlanterns.com and Wikipedia.