Thaipooyamor Thaipoosam is a festival celebrated by the Hindu Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February), usually coinciding with Pushya star, known as Poosam in Tamil. The festival is also observed as Thaipooyam Mahotsavam in Shree Subrahmanya Temple in Alappuzha, Kerala.
It is mainly observed in countries where there is a significant presence of Tamil community such as India, Malaysia, Mauritius, as well as other places where ethnic Tamils reside as a part of the local Indian diaspora population such as Canada, Singapore, South Africa, the United States, Réunion, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica and the other parts of the Caribbean.
The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam (Tamil word for Pushya; Malayalam word - Pooyam). This particular star is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan (aka Kartikeya) a Vel "divine spear" so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman and his brothers. It is also commonly believed that Thaipusam marks Murugan's birthday; though some other sources suggest that Vaikhasi Vishakam, which falls in the Vaikhasi month (May/June), is Murugan's birthday.
17 авг 2024
