Ba Den Mountain organizes a leaf market and many unique activities during the Bà's birthday festival

Ba Lady's Anniversary Festival - the largest and most important festival at Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh will be held from May 30th to June 1st (corresponding to May 4th-6th lunar calendar) this year. On this occasion, many large-scale spiritual cultural activities will be organized for the people to show their respect to Linh Son Thanh Mau Bodhisattva - the main goddess of Ba Mountain.

 

Sacred ceremonies at Ba Temple

On the 4th, 5th, and 6th of May in the lunar calendar every year, the Ba Den Anniversary Festival is solemnly held with many sacred rituals at the system of Ba Mountain temples to show respect to Linh Son Thanh Mau - the god who protects a whole region in the religious life of the people of Southern Vietnam.

Ba Lady's Anniversary Festival takes place from May 30th to June 1st at Ba Den Mountain. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain

This year, the Ba Lady's Anniversary Festival will be held on a large scale at Linh Son Tien Thach Tu and Ba Temple located halfway up Ba Den Mountain. Here, the people will offer their sincere respect to Linh Son Thanh Mau with traditional ceremonies such as the Ba bathing ceremony, chanting sutras and reciting Buddha's name, offering midday sacrifices, the Ba Den announcement ceremony, and the offering of 10 types of offerings: Flowers, lamps, incense, tea, fruit, food, cakes, water, jewels...

Ba Lady's Anniversary Festival this year is also a time for Buddhists and people to commemorate Superior Thich Nu Dieu Nghia - former Deputy Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Tay Ninh province - who is known throughout the country for her many charitable activities, social welfare, and the worldly spirit of a true practitioner. Linh Son Tien Thach Tu is the temple where the Superior nun shaved her head to become a monk, and dedicated her whole life to contributing to the Dharma.

The Ba bathing ceremony is the most characteristic ceremony in the Ba Lady's Anniversary Festival. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain

Many art programs with strong cultural identities such as shadow puppetry, cải lương (reformed opera), tuồng (classical opera), etc. are also expected to be held at the Ba Chua (Mother Goddess) temple system during the festival.

Attending the Leaf Market and Offering Lanterns on the Mountaintop

On the top of Ba Den Mountain, many unique cultural activities will be organized this time, especially the Leaf Market - a “specialty” market of Tay Ninh famous for its unique way of trading: buying goods with leaves. Here, Sun World Ba Den Mountain resort recreates the scene of old village markets with leaf-covered stalls, girls wearing ao ba ba (traditional Vietnamese dress), scarves, and folk games around the market.

Ba Den Leaf Market attracts tourists with many attractive dishes. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain

Each tourist passing through the cable car ticket gate to the top of Ba Den Mountain will receive a bodhi leaf to buy food and drinks with many traditional dishes sold such as banh it (small steamed rice cake), banh cuon (steamed rice rolls), banh trang (rice paper), banh u (pyramid-shaped glutinous rice cake), banh xu xe (a type of pancake), banh bot loc (tapioca dumpling), banh bo (sponge cake), banh da lon (pig skin cake), cassava steamed with coconut, che (sweet dessert soup), xoi (sticky rice), etc. This is considered a special experience unique to Tay Ninh, where tourists can feel the characteristic local culture and unique culinary flavors of the land of beef and rice paper.

On the evening of May 31 (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month), the grand lantern offering ceremony to celebrate the Mother Goddess’s birthday will be solemnly held at the square at the foot of the statue of the Tay Bo Da Son Mother Goddess. Here, thousands of lantern lights made by the staff of Sun World Ba Den Mountain resort and tourists, Buddhists will write their wishes and light them up next to the water plates, creating a magical and sacred atmosphere for the highest mountain in the South. This is an opportunity for people to send tens of thousands of wishes for peace and happiness to the Buddhas and the Holy Mother Bodhisattva, representing compassion and salvation.

The lantern offering ceremony to celebrate the Mother Goddess’s birthday takes place on the evening of May 31. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain

The last day of this year’s Mother Goddess’s birthday also coincides with International Children’s Day on June 1. Therefore, many attractive activities will be organized on the mountaintop such as folk games, lion and dragon dances, art performances, etc., creating a cheerful and bustling atmosphere for the “roof of the South”.

This year, the Ba Lady's Anniversary is held immediately after the Vesak 2025 Great Ceremony at Ba Den Mountain, also an opportunity for visitors to admire the magnificent cultural and spiritual works that make this place a “meeting point between heaven and earth”, according to Venerable Phra Brahmapundit – chairman of the United Nations International Vesak Day Committee. Especially, the Bodhi tree saplings, offered from Bodh Gaya and planted by thousands of high-ranking monks from all over the world during the Vesak ceremony, become a space for visitors to cultivate compassion and wisdom, finding peace and serenity right on the sacred mountain peak. The Buddhist-themed painting exhibition titled “Ve Ngo” by painter Hoang Phong and the art exhibition space of sky lanterns with thousands of hand-painted lanterns with folk motifs also create unique cultural experiences for the highest mountain in the South during this time.

Lasting throughout the early days of the 5th lunar month, the Linh Son Holy Mother's Anniversary is expected to welcome thousands of Buddhists and visitors from all over the country to visit and worship, creating a sacred pilgrimage season at the highest mountain in the South.