Mid Week Holiday.

Oh, it's good to be getting up late on a Wednesday and not having to go to work. It's good to be able to sleep in while almost the rest of the population of Malaysia has to go to work. And why is that? Well, today is the celebration of Thaipusam for the Hindus here and for a few states over here it's a holiday and the state I happen to be living in is one of them. So, while you other people in those various states who are working, I sure don't envy you guys ... LOL!

What is Thaipusam really? Well, Thaipusam is basically a festival celebrated by those of the Hindu faith on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai (January/February). Pusam refers to a star which is at the highest point during this festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Lord Murugan, the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion in which Parvati gave Murugan a vel (lance) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.

Generally people take a vow to offer a kavadi (burdens) to the Lord for purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to Shanmuga to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Him.


Devotees usually prepare for the celebration with a cleansing ritual that involves prayers and fasting. Devotees will normally shave their heads bald and undertake a pilgrimage along a set path while engaging in various acts of devotion by carrying numerous types of kavadi which at its simplest may just involve carrying a pot of milk but at its extreme piercing the skin, tongue and cheeks with skewers are also common.

I've never been to one of these Thaipusam thingys but normally watch it on TV. It's just too crowded with thousands of devotees congregating the fulfill their vows. Anyway, that's the best description I could give you on the Festival of Thaipusam, if any of it may not be accurate, don't blame me, blame Wikipedia, that's where I got my info from ... LOL! And lastly, before I sign off, a Happy Thaipusam to my Hindu friends.