SINGAPORE, December 11, 2024 (Sassy Mama): Thaipusam, the Hindu thanksgiving festival is celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Thai. The 2025 Thaipusam festival will be on Tuesday 11 February 2025 in Little India, Singapore and will see live music stations along the 2.5 mile walk from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple at Serangoon Road to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple at Tank Road. Thaipusam is a sacred Tamil thanksgiving festival involving asceticism and control over one’s senses. According to Tamil folklore, Thaipusam and the foot procession are celebrated in honor of Lord Murugan (also known as Lord Subrahmanya), who represents virtue, youth and power, and is the destroyer of evil. Thaipusam in Singapore usually attracts thousands of Hindu devotees who fulfil their vows over the 2.5 mile walk carrying either a paal kudam (milk pot) or kavadi (wooden or metal structure with milk offerings). In keeping with an old tradition that was revived in 2016, musicians line the procession route, a wonderful addition to the already festive atmosphere.

The arrival of devotees habitually starts with prayers, and around midnight, the first group of devotees carrying pots of milk and kavadis (semi-circular metal structures decorated with peacock feathers, flowers and palm leaves), leave for the journey from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple back to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple. The word kavadi translates to “sacrifice at every step,” while the milk offering symbolizes the cleansing of the mind and soul; devotees who pierce their tongues or carry a spiked kavadi are believed to only be able to undertake this sacred task without feeling any pain when they have freed their body and mind from material and physical wants. In fact, in order to carry a kavadi, a devotee has to prepare himself spiritually and live a life of abstinence (including a strict vegetarian diet) for at least a month. While it is quite an amazing sight to watch devotees carrying kavadis, this is a sacred religious act, so visitors are requested to be respectful and not distract the focus of the devotees.

More on the Singapore Thaipusam festival including photos at source.
https://www.sassymamasg.com/guide-to-thaipusam-singapore/

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