Thai Pusam
There are a few days every year when life-changing energies are at the maximum on the Earthen plane. One such day is Thai Pusam as it is considered a highly auspicious time for spiritual and personal growth. Thai pusam is a Hindu festival celebrated amongst the Tamil community in honour of Lord Murugan or Karthikeya also known as the Deity of Enlightenment and the Third Eye/Pineal Gland. Falling on a full moon day of the Tamil month of "Thai" and on one of 27 astrological star constellations "Pusam" hence "Thai-pusam", it commemorates the occasion where Goddess Parvati gave Lord Murugan the "vel" or spear so he could defeat the demon Soorapadman/negative influences.
The Vel is a powerful weapon which represents infinite wisdom, required for liberation. The pusam star is an important star as it is considered the star of enlightenment. Scriptures state it is the star on which Shiva descended to the Earthen plane to reduce suffering and grant enlightenment to the people of Earth and the star on which Swami Ramalingam turned his physical body into light. The pusam star is ruled by Shani, the planet Saturn, the powerful planet which most influences one's life and fortune and thus Thai Pusam is an auspicious day to seek blessings and start new ventures.
On Thai poosam, it is customary for kids to start learning to write for the first time, get their ears pierced, or start a new venture. Others, mostly males, perform Kavadi Dance at temples which is a devotional sacrifice dedicated to Murugan. Long bamboo sticks with pails filled flowers or other devotional items suspended on the ends are placed across the devotee's shoulders as he dances while traveling long distance on foot with the belief that it will bring good physical and mental health as well as absolve any spiritual debt.
On Thai Pusam day, or days leading up to Thai Pusam, many devotees choose to observe a fast. The morning of consists of preparing the home, prayers, making padayal or a divine offering, thevarams/traditional hymns, and breaking of the fast with a vegetarian meal. For padayal, a sweet dish called thirupagam is commonly made. Thirupagam is a halwa like sweet made of besan flour, ghee, milk, jaggery, and ground cashews.