A Century of Yaochi Palace Banquet

"Sea of people" poured into the Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh on the night of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.

Cao Dai was founded in 1925, currently has about 2.4 million followers, is the 3rd religion out of 16 religions recognized by the State. Cao Dai Tay Ninh alone has more than 1 million followers, with the motto of "taking love as the foundation, taking humanity as the motto of practice, taking service to sentient beings as action, taking salvation of souls as the goal, striving to build a moral and peaceful society with the spirit of love for fellow believers".

Caodaism's historical records show that the Yaochi Palace Festival has an ancient story from the story of Emperor Wu of Han building a flower palace, fasting and praying for the Mother Buddha to descend on the full moon night of the eighth lunar month, to bestow blessings for favorable weather, peace and prosperity for the country, and happiness for the people. When Caodaism was first established in Vietnam, the Yaochi Palace Festival was first held in the year of At Suu (1925) and has been maintained until now.

This Mid-Autumn Festival of the year At Ty (2025), an estimated 200,000 people gathered at the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See to celebrate the Dieu Tri Palace Banquet; because in the religious beliefs of Cao Dai followers, Dieu Tri Palace is a sacred place in heaven, where the Mother Buddha governs and the Nine Fairies are in charge of the nine clouds. Therefore, the teachings of Cao Dai often reflect the spirit of many major religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Catholicism, promoting compassion, harmony, and the spirit of serving society.

Since the days before the great ceremony, many believers from provinces, cities, and even abroad have come to Hoa Thanh ward and Tan Ninh ward to be present on time for the sacred occasion of the religion. Hotels and motels in the area are almost full and the boarding houses around the Holy See also have "no rooms" signs. However, this has not discouraged believers from near and far, and they have chosen to stay in the Holy See grounds, spending the night in hammocks, tents... waiting for the main ceremony.

Talking about the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See, this is the largest religious building of Cao Dai religion in the world , located in Hoa Thanh ward (Tay Ninh), with an area of over 2,000m² with unique architecture, notably two bell towers and drums 25m high, located in an area of over 1km².

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival, following traditional customs, before the grand ceremony, the Tay Ninh Cao Dai Church organized a small altar worship at 0:00 a.m. on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, and a grand altar worship of the Mother Buddha at 12:00 noon on the same day. After that, the grand ceremony officially took place at 22:00 at night in a solemn and cozy atmosphere.

After welcoming the Buddha Mother and the Nine Fairies to the arrival, the mysterious octagonal music of the Kim (plucked string instrument), Co (co), Tam (southern flute), Sen (a type of zither)… made the Dieu Tri Palace Banquet ceremony more sacred and magical than ever. As soon as the music ended, everyone offered flowers, wine, tea… until the morning of August 16 (lunar calendar), the ceremony ended with a prayer for peace and free gift giving to children.

In the festival part of the Dieu Tri Palace Banquet, at the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See, there is also a place where female believers compete in their skillful housework. The dishes and fruits through the hands of the sisters and mothers become special displays, making them noble offerings to the Buddha Mother and the Nine Fairies. At the same time, many vegetarian meals are also organized free of charge for tens of thousands of people near and far, whether religious or not.

The 2025 festival records show that there were 100 fruit stalls with delicate, beautiful and creative carvings, creating a colorful festival picture. In addition, flower clusters (fresh flowers and leaves) were also trimmed and decorated based on the image of the Buddha Mother and the Nine Fairies, honoring their virtues of tolerance and generosity and praying for favorable weather, national peace and prosperity.

Visitors from near and far, along with Cao Dai followers, also witnessed many unique folk art performances such as the Chhay-dam drum dance, the Long Ma-Ngoc Ky Lan dance, the Dragon Incense dance; along with the parade of the four sacred animals (Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, Phoenix), the three heavenly kings (Happiness, Prosperity, Longevity), Tang Tam Tang and his disciples, and many other masquerades that made the festival atmosphere sublime, bringing viewers to a heavenly, gentle place...

The Dieu Tri Palace Banquet Festival is a symbol of faith and spiritual connection in the Cao Dai community. With its profound cultural and spiritual values and strong appeal, the festival has gone beyond the scope of a normal religious ceremony to become a unique cultural highlight, an event that unites the community, preserves traditional values and national spirit in the religious life of the Vietnamese people.