Festivals, Kuala Lumpur

Although I have been at the Batu Caves on a normal day, let me give you a short description what the Thaipusam Festival is all about.

It is a celebration for the son of Shiva (Subramaniam) and the reunion of the Pusam and the Brihaspati stars. The Pusam star is at its highest point during the festival which is attended by up 1 million devotees and tens of thousands of tourists.

It is held at full moon in the tenth month of the Hindu calendar, mostly at the end of January or early February.

The devotees carry so called kavadis up the steps, either for penance or sacrifice, to stimulate their Gods to do them a favour and/or avoid disasters. Those kadavis are burdens or any kind, from pots of milk, or jugs of water, to the famous wooden frames loaded with flowers or fruit, and attached to the devotees’ skin with long metal hooks. That really is self-torture, and hard to watch.

The procession to the caves starts at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in the heart of the city and proceeds 15 kilometers to the caves. This takes 8 hours. In total the Thaipusam Festival takes three days.

If you are lucky you can see a Hindu celebration at the Caves as every day such an event takes place – but not with such crowds as during the Thaipusam Festival. And without the hooks…

The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur was carved out from the State of Selangor.

Note that KL does not follow the state holidays of Selangor.

This year Thaipusam has been added for the first time as a KL public holiday.

23 January 2008 Wednesday
Thaipusam

1 February 2008 Friday
Federal Territory Day
(Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Labuan only)

once a year, hindus from all over the country will congrgate to make their their pilgrimage to batu caves for the consecration to the hindu deity, lord murugan, also known as lord subramaniam.. on this day batu caves will see the colourful possession of kavadi going up the 272 steps to the entrance of the great cave and deposited at the feet of the deity..

During the Chinese New Year season, lots of merry making is seen. It is usually around Late January to February month.
Chinese love decking in red, eat mandarin oranges, have lion dances, and go out to have grand banquets. Many Chinese restaurants may have firecrackers, lion dances to offer..check out the time.

We celeberate for 15 days, and we have this unique dish called Yee Sang (Raw Fish) - it is salad-y type of food. Yee means endless wealth and sang means life. And we would furiously mix the ingredients served in a platter and shout lou hei - symbolises prosperity and longevity