Thai Pūsam falls on the Pournima (or comes as close to it as possible) in the month of Thai/ makara coinciding with the star Pushya.
It is mainly observed in countries where there is a significant presence of Tamil community such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius Singapore, South Africa, Canada and other places where ethnic Hindu Tamils reside as a part of the local Indian diaspora population such as Réunion, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica and the other parts of the Caribbean.
It is a national holiday in many countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius. In certain states of Malaysia and in the nations of Sri Lanka and Mauritius it is a government and a bank holiday. In Singapore, it was previously a national holiday but was removed from the official list of national holidays to improve business competitiveness.
The deity of Pushya is Brahaspati, the spiritual teacher of Indra, the king of the celestials. Bathing in the holy waters on this day has been considered to please Brahaspati and to be helpful in the growth of the wisdom.
The festival commemorates the occasion of Parvati’s bestowal of VEL(spear) upon Murugan so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. According to Skanda Puranam, Murugan is the embodiment of Shiva's light and wisdom and devotees pray to him to overcome the obstacles they face, as He is the divine vanquisher of evil. The motive of Thaipusam festival is to pray to God to receive his grace so that bad traits are destroyed.
Thai Pūsam is celebrated with great pomp in all the Six abodes Murugan and in various other temples. Even in Shiva temples, it is one of the most important festival. Some of the important Shiva temples where Thai Pūsam is celebrated are Tiruvidaimarudur (Tanjavur district), Mallikarjuna (Andhra Pradesh), Tiruppudaimarudur or Putarjua (Tirunelveli district), Vaidisvarankoil, Kapaliswarara Koil (Mayiliappur), etc.
The Nagarattar community had built temples of Murugan wherever they had settled down in groups and usually, the temple is known as the Chettiyar temple.
Carrying the Kavadi (semi-circular, decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that the pilgrim carries on their shoulders carrying pots of milk on either side) and walking over a distance, piercing the tongue and some other parts of the body with a Vel are common features of the celebration. Everybody in South India celebrates irrespective of caste and creed. People take only one meal of vegetarian food after the function of Thai Pūsam and some fast for the whole day.Pāyasam (milk porridge) is offered to God along with fruits.
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