Thaipusam
Sign in to saveAlso known as Thaipooyam, ThaiPoosam, Pausha Pushya
Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (Tamil: Taippūcam, ) is a Tamil Hindu festival celebrated on the first full moon day of the Tamil month of Thai coinciding with Pusam star. The festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Hindu god Murugan over the demon Surapadman. During the battle, Murugan is believed to have wielded a vel, a divine spear granted by his mother, Parvati.
Key facts
- Holiday.holiday_name
- Thaipusam
- Holiday.image
- Penang thaipusam Kavadi procceession.jpg
- Holiday.caption
- Chariot of Murugan during Thaipusam festivities in Malaysia
- Holiday.observedby
- Primarily Tamil Hindus in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji, South Africa and United States
- Holiday.date
- First full moon coinciding with Pusa nakshatra in the Tamil month of Thai
- Holiday.celebrations
- Kavadi Aattam
- Holiday.type
- Hindu
- Holiday.significance
- Commemoration of Murugan's victory over Surapadman
- Holiday.date2026
- Sunday, 1 February
via Wikipedia infobox
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Theology
- Occurrence
- Practices
- Areas of practice
- India
- Outside India
- See also
- References
Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (Tamil: Taippūcam, ) is a Tamil Hindu festival celebrated on the first full moon day of the Tamil month of Thai coinciding with Pusam star. The festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Hindu god Murugan over the demon Surapadman. During the battle, Murugan is believed to have wielded a vel, a divine spear granted by his mother, Parvati.
The festival includes ritualistic practices of Kavadi Aattam, a ceremonial act of sacrifice carrying a physical burden as a means of balancing a spiritual debt. Worshipers often carry a pot of cow milk as an offering and also do mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers. Devotees prepare for the rituals by keeping clean, doing regular prayers, following a vegetarian diet and fasting while remaining celibate.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Thaipusam” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.