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Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (தைப்பூசம்) is a Tamil Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai (January/February), usually coinciding with Pushya star, known as Pusam in Tamil. The festival commemorates the legend of the goddess Parvati offering her son, Murugan (Kartikeya) a vel (a divine spear) so he could vanquish the asura Surapadman and his brothers. It is also commonly believed that Thaipusam marks Murugan's birthday; though some other sources suggest that the date of Vaikasi Visakam, which falls on the Vaikasi month (May/June), is Murugan's birthday. Thaipusam 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. It is a national holiday in many countries such as Malaysia and Mauritius. In India its a state holiday in Tamil Nadu. In certain states of Malaysia and in the nations of Mauritius, it is also a government and a bank holiday. The name Thaipusam is a portmanteau of the name of the Tamil month of Thai, and the name of the star, Pusam, the Tamil rendering of the Sanskrit Pushya. This particular star is at its highest point during the festival. The name of the star is rendered Pooyam in Malayalam. According to the Kanda Puranam, the Tamil iteration of the Skanda Purana, three asuras (a race of celestial beings) named Surapadman, Tarakasuran, Singamukhan performed austerities to propitiate Shiva. The deity granted them various boons, including the ability to conquer the three worlds, as well as immortality. The three brothers subsequently oppressed the celestial deities known as the devas and started a reign of injustice and tyranny in their respective realms. When the deities pleaded Shiva for his assistance, he manifested five additional heads, and a divine spark emerged from each of them.

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Batu Caves

Batu Caves (பத்து மலை) is a mogote (a type of karst landform) that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Malay word batu, meaning 'rock'. The cave complex is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Murugan. It is the focal point of the Tamil festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. Batu Caves in short, is also referred to as 10th Caves or Hill for Murugan as there are six important holy shrines in India and four more in Malaysia.

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Kartikeya

Kartikeya (Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), Murugan (முருகன்), and is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha and a god whose legends have many versions in Hinduism. Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, worshipped as Mahasena and Kumara in North India and is predominantly worshipped in the state of Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius by Tamils as Murugan.