# Talk:Thaipusam

This article is extraoridnarily confusing. I cannot even figure it out. But I don't know how to flag articles for clarification. alvastarr 21:53, 5 August 2007 (UTC)alvastarr

Wiki Raja 10:44, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 17:09, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

On item:-

Interestingly, Thaipusam is also increasingly being celebrated by the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia citation needed.
The increase in ethnic Chinese have been noted in various forum, but not in any official WEB that I know off. Does forum qualified for fact/reference. Refer to this http://www.google.com.my/search?hl=en&q=thaipusam+ethnic+Chinese+have+joined+kavadi&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
Yosri (talk) 13:33, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

is it true that the vel kavadi practice is banned in India itself?  --86.135.123.138 (talk) 01:07, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

The article needs, among other corrections, consistent spelling. For example, is Thaipusam one word or two? (Thai Pusam) It is spelled both ways throughout. Scottdoc (talk) 04:52, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
In Malaysia it is always spelt as one word, Thaipusam. Cavingliz (talk) 04:52, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

"The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam." Which star might be Pusam or is this just part of a myth and not an actual star? Bmh81 (talk) 12:58, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

Bmh81, I wondered the same thing. It seems Pusam is either the constellation Cancer or it could be Beta Cancri which is the brightest star in Cancer.
I found this blog post which says pusam is three stars, Theta Cancri, Gamma Cancri (Asellus Borealis) and "Eta-Cancri". It's not clear if Eta-Cancri is Beta Cancri, Zeta Cancri, or another star. Beta Cancri is more likely simply as it's the brightest star in the area.
That blog post also says that Pusam has a visual magnitude of 4.57. The only stars close to magnitude 4.57 in Cancer are 4.26 Alpha Cancri, 4.66 Gamma Cancri, and 4.67 Zeta Cancri.
The blog post also said that and that ancient Vedic seers saw these stars as resembling an "udder of a cow" indicating that Pusam is a group of stars.
This page says "A full Moon that brings enlightenment will be in the Poosam or Pushya star". On February 3, 2015 the Moon and Jupiter were quite close to each other and on the eastern edge of Cancer.
That reference to "Pushya star" lead me to fengshui.html which says "Pushya (To provide nourishment) (3°20' to 16°40' Cancer)" has an image of the constellation draw so that it looks like the udder of a cow.  "Pushya star" also found vedic-raashi says "If a single star has to be identified as Pushya (Tishya), then 17b Cnc/SAO-116569/HD-69267/ is the best candidate." SAO-116569/HD-69267 are Beta Cancri.
Unfortunately, none of the pages I found seem to qualify as a WP:RS. --Marc Kupper|talk 02:27, 8 February 2015 (UTC)
The List of Hindu festivals article says "The word Thaipusam is derived from the Tamil month name Thai and Pusam, which refers to a star near the location of the moon during the festival." No source is provided but if that is correct then there is no one star or group of stars that is Pusam. --Marc Kupper|talk 19:42, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

"It is a national holiday in many countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Fiji. I...
Note: In Fiji, Thaipusam is not officially declared as a national holiday"
For the sake of a casual reader like me it would be useful to explain in what sense it is a national holiday if not officially declared, or to leave Fiji out. --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 23:35, 18 December 2018 (UTC)