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Every Mid-Autumn Festival, Tay Ninh becomes bustling with activity because it's the time of the biggest festival of the year for Cao Dai followers: the Grand Feast of the Jade Pool Palace. This festival consists of both ceremonial and celebratory parts, with the ceremonial part being given more emphasis.
Not everyone knows about this festival of Cao Dai followers, but if you visit Tay Ninh a week before the Mid-Autumn Festival, you will certainly feel the lively atmosphere. The church renovates everything from the roads, trees, and flower pots. They also redecorate the main gates and erect rows of tents around the Temple of the Mother Buddha. The beauty of a festival with religious significance is that Cao Dai followers voluntarily come to the holy site during this time to help and perform charitable work. According to Cao Dai followers, the full moon of the eighth lunar month is an opportunity to do good deeds, so no one calculates or counts their contributions.
In the templeIn Cao Dai religion, the grand ceremony of the Yaochi Palace Feast is held only at the Tay Ninh Holy See and nowhere else. (Photo)nhipcautamgiao
On holidays, observing the main sanctuary of the cathedral, you will see hundreds of exhibition booths displaying offerings surrounding it. These are just ordinary flowers and fruits, but thanks to the skillful hands of artisans, they are transformed into many vibrant and lively works of art with various themes such as dragons, unicorns, turtles, phoenixes, etc.
The traditional religious ceremony, held on the night of the 15th of the lunar month, lasts from afternoon until midnight and includes various activities such as the procession of the floats of the Mother Buddha and the Nine Immortal Maidens, dragon dances, incense dances, unicorn dances, tortoise and phoenix dances; and a grand phoenix dance troupe and musical ensemble. The procession of the Mother Buddha floats is particularly large, followed by the musical ensemble, drum troupe, dancers, and lion dance troupe.
In particular, the incense dragon dance is a unique feature of Tay Ninh. A dragon nearly 20 meters long is controlled by 30 dancers. Even from a distance, you can see a brightly lit area of the sky. The swirling incense smoke continuously moves, allowing onlookers to feel the power and solemnity of this sacred creature in their beliefs. The incense dragon will slowly move towards the Holy See.
A lively dragon dance with incense burning at the Tay Ninh Holy See. Photo:btgcp
As it is a major festival for Cao Dai followers, visitors can also experience many other unique activities such as martial arts performances, poetry recitation, theatrical performances, chess games, flower arranging competitions, or cake making. In particular, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy a delicious vegetarian meal unlike anywhere else. This is the largest and most lively communal vegetarian meal ever held. Nearly 500 volunteers work to cook and serve pilgrims for three days, from the 13th to the 15th of the eighth lunar month.
From 4 AM to 10 PM, pilgrims can stop by to eat as they please. At peak times, it is estimated that up to 25,000 people come here to eat vegetarian meals. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it often rains, but most Cao Dai followers and pilgrims brave the difficulties to attend the festival. The Grand Feast of the Jade Pool Palace is a beautiful aspect of life in Tay Ninh in general and the Cao Dai religion in particular. The grand ceremony holds many values, not only spiritual but also positively impacting daily life.
