Popularly known as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines", the city holds the annual Giant Lantern Festival every December where large parol are displayed in competition.

The barrio was separated from San Fernando on the December 8, 1829 as the new town of Angeles, with the Los Santos Ángeles Custodios as titular patrons.

On June 27 of the same year, José P. Rizal made a stopover in the town as part of his mission to recruit members to the La Liga Filipina.

Brigadier General Diego de los Rios arrived on December 2 to calm the revolution that started in Manila on August 30.

On May 4, 1899, Philippine revolutionary troops led by General Antonio Luna burned the casa municipal, the town church and several houses to render them useless to the approaching American forces.

On August 12, 1904, U.S. Secretary of War William H. Taft visited the town to get first-hand information and gather ideas for the governance of Pampanga.

The company was formed in 1918 by large-scale planters such as José de León, Augusto Gonzales, Francisco Tongio Liongson, Tomás Lazatin, Tomás Consunji, Francisco Hizon, José Henson, and Manuel Urquico in the San Fernando residence of Governor Honorio Ventura as part of a plan to construct a locally financed central.

On February 14, 1939, Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon proclaimed his social justice program before a gathering of farmers in front of the Municipal Government building.

On December 16, 1980, Jose B. Lingad, a lawyer and politician, was shot dead at the gasoline station while sitting alone in the driver's seat of his car in the morning by a lone gunman during the Martial law under the President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

[7] In 1986, Paterno Guevarra was sworn in as officer-in-charge of the town after the successful People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship that same year.

In 2000, House Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. signed the approved city charter of San Fernando on December 4 and 13 respectively.

On the morning of April 30, 2022, Barangay Alasas chairman and PDP-Laban city council candidate Alvin C. Mendoza was driving through Brgy.

Magliman with his family in an SUV heading to his party's headquarters during the 2022 local election when he was shot sixteen times by motorcycle-riding gunmen.

[11][12] After the incident, his wife Rosalie ran in his stead as "Alvin Mendoza" and won the second-highest number of votes among candidates for councilor.

[13] In his investigation, Lubao, Pampanga police executive Ceazar Dalay regarded a gun-for-hire group leader with the alias Jason Alvarez as a suspect in the assassination.

Poverty incidence of San Fernando Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Being at the heart of the province, the city of San Fernando is home to 2 public markets, 39 banks, 48 lending institutions (investors), 38 pawnshops, 17 gasoline stations, 3 cinemas, 39 public and private schools, 7 hospitals, 13 dental offices, 9 hotels, 28 drug stores, 7 discos, 6 foreign exchange firms, 15 garment factories, 24 groceries, 7 supermarkets, 42 insurance companies, 16 security agencies and 70 restaurants.

The mall is along Jose Abad Santos Avenue, at the boundary of San Fernando with the municipality of Mexico, and has a total floor area of 62,000 square meters (670,000 sq ft).

Beside these malls is the Azure North Residences with majestic Monaco, Bali and Barbados Towers, a gateway of Century Properties along Gapan–San Fernando–Olongapo Road (JASA) in Barangay San Jose.

Other manufacturing companies with offices in the city include Universal Robina, Zuellig Pharma, Nestlé Philippines, Petrophil, Mondragon Industries, JBTEC Flavors and Blends Inc. Asia Brewery, and Del Monte Corporation.

Major food and beverage companies such as San Miguel Corporation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Pampanga's Best, have factories in the city.

Every year during Christmas season, the city becomes the center of production of hand-made parols, which is different from the usual ones for its intricate designs and the illusion of dancing lights, emphasizing the lanterns' vibrant colors.