Thien Hau Pagoda Festival Ho Chi Minh City

Festivals and celebrations are an innate part of Vietnamese culture. Festivals help keep one in touch with one’s roots while providing an outlet for one’s creative energies. In Ho Chi Minh City especially festivals are celebrated with a lot of pomp and ceremony. Though this city is the commercial capital of Vietnam the people of this city have not forgotten their roots and traditional festivities are sacrosanct here. Out of the many festivals that are celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City one of the very important ones is the Thien Hau Pagoda festival.

The Thien Hau Pagoda festival is celebrated in, as the name suggests, the Thien Hau Pagoda and is dedicated to the Lady Thien Hau. It is believed that the Lady Thien Hau who was originally from China put her life at risk to save people from danger.

The Thien Hau Pagoda festival is held in her honor on the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month. Devotees come here to this pagoda from far of places to pray for happiness prosperity and fulfillment.

This day is considered auspicious as it’s believed to be Lady Thien Hau’s birthday. In this festival two effigies of Ong Thien and Ong Ac of 3m length are made which are burned after the ceremony. Lion dance is performed in the yard of the pagoda.

This festival is believed to of immense importance in the spiritual life of the city's Chinese, as well as Vietnamese communities.