Ho Chi Minh City’s pagodas celebrate Buddha's birthday   Photo for illustration. Pagodas in Ho Chi Minh City this week have lit seven lotus-shaped lanterns to celebrate the anniversary of Buddha's birth. The lanterns, which have 24 petals arranged in three layers, will be kept lighting on the Nhieu Loc canal until May 25. The 2,557th birthday of Buddha falls on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month. City pagodas will also mark the 50th death anniversary of the Venerable Thich Quang Duc, who died of self-immolation in June in 1963 to protest the then American-supported Saigon government's repression of local Buddhists, the HCM City's Buddhist Sangha said. The event will be highlighted by an exhibition featuring Buddhism culture at the Pho Quang Pagoda in Tan Binh district. The exhibition will close on May 24. Talks about the life of Buddha have also been organised at pagodas where many followers are taking part in incense offerings. In addition, 32 flower-decorated floats joined in a parade on the city's main downtown streets on May 22. Also, five boats decorated with flowers by pagodas and Buddhist followers sailed in a parade on the Sai Gon River. Activities to celebrate Buddha’s birthday were also held in the Mekong delta province of Hau Giang, the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan and the central Da Nang city.  Source: VNA