Devotees who want to take part in Theemithi, Singapore's annual Hindu fire-walking festival, will need to book their places online. The Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) has confirmed that registration for the main rituals, including walking on or around the fire pit, opens on 24 September 2026 at heb.org.sg. There will be no walk-in ticket sales at the temple.
The festival, also known as Theemithi Vizha, is scheduled for 1 November 2026 at Sri Mariamman Temple, 244 South Bridge Road, Singapore's oldest Hindu temple. For Serangoon readers, the day is also a street-level event: the male foot procession for those walking the fire pit starts at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road and ends at Sri Mariamman Temple in Chinatown.
HEB issued the registration notice on 6 August 2026. The three-month festival calendar had already been set in motion with kodiyetram, the festival flag hoisting, on 17 August 2026. Devotees perform the rites to fulfil vows they have made. HEB is urging anyone who intends to take part to book as soon as the online system opens, because slots are limited and the temple will not sell participation tickets at the door.
What opens on 24 September
From 24 September, devotees can register at the Hindu Endowments Board website for four categories of participation: paalkudam, angaprathachanam, kumbiduthandam, and walking on or around the fire pit. HEB has been explicit that these are not walk-up events. If you have not registered online, you will not be able to buy a participation ticket at Sri Mariamman Temple on the day.
Prices for those ritual slots have not been announced in the public notice. Opening hours for the registration portal beyond the start date of 24 September have also not been announced. Anyone who hits a technical snag, or who needs to confirm which category they should book, can call the Sri Mariamman Temple office on 6223 4064, or check HEB's website and Facebook page.
The organiser is the Hindu Endowments Board, which administers several major Hindu temples in Singapore, including Sri Mariamman Temple and Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. Both sites sit on the route of the 1 November procession, so Serangoon Road and South Bridge Road will both see concentrated devotee traffic that day.
The four rituals, and what each involves
Paalkudam is the milk-pot ceremony. Devotees carry pots of milk as an act of devotion. It is one of the more visible processional acts in the festival period, and it is among the rites that now require an online booking rather than a same-day walk-in.
Angaprathachanam is physically demanding. Devotees lie on the ground with their arms outstretched in prayer, then roll around the temple premises. It is performed as the fulfilment of a vow, not as a spectator stunt, and HEB is treating it as a registered ritual alongside the fire-pit walk.
Kumbiduthandam is a measured circuit of the temple grounds. Devotees walk around the premises and prostrate in prayer every three steps. Like the other two preparatory rites, it is tied to vows made by the participant, and it is on the same online-registration list as fire-walking.
The fire-pit walk itself is the climax of Theemithi on 1 November. HEB's notice covers both those who walk on the fire pit and those who walk around it. Only registered devotees may take part. The board has not published a public breakdown of how many fire-pit slots versus circuit slots will be released, nor a fee schedule. Those details, if they exist, have not been announced beyond the instruction to register at heb.org.sg from 24 September.
Serangoon Road to South Bridge Road on 1 November
On festival day, the foot procession for male participants walking on the fire pit begins at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, 397 Serangoon Road. That temple sits in the Serangoon / Little India belt and is the natural local landmark for this guide. From there, the male fire-pit walkers proceed on foot to Sri Mariamman Temple at 244 South Bridge Road, where the fire-walking takes place.
The start point is served by Farrer Park MRT (NE8) and Little India MRT (NE7/DT12). The end point, in Chinatown, is served by Chinatown MRT (NE4/DT19). Anyone coming from Serangoon Central on the North East Line can stay on the same line through Little India and Farrer Park, then continue to Chinatown if they are meeting the procession at Sri Mariamman Temple rather than at the Serangoon Road start.
HEB has not published a start time for the foot procession, nor a public timetable for when the fire pit will be prepared or when walking will begin. Those times have not been announced in the registration notice. What is confirmed is the date (1 November 2026), the two temples on the route, and the rule that ritual participation is online-only.
Residents and shopkeepers along Serangoon Road should expect heavier foot traffic and devotee groups on that Sunday. The procession is a religious observance, not a ticketed street fair, so there is no public ticket price for watching from the roadside. Participation in the named rituals is a separate matter and still requires the 24 September online booking.
A three-month festival, not a single afternoon
Theemithi is framed as a three-month festival, not a one-day spectacle. It opened with kodiyetram, the hoisting of the festival flag, on 17 August 2026 at Sri Mariamman Temple. From that flag-raising through to the fire-walk on 1 November, devotees work through vows and preparatory rites. The 24 September registration window is the administrative gate for the most physically intensive of those rites, including the fire pit.
Sri Mariamman Temple has stood on South Bridge Road since the nineteenth century and is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple. Hosting Theemithi there is established practice. Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road is the procession's northern anchor, which is why this festival belongs on a Serangoon city-guide calendar even though the fire pit itself is in Chinatown.
Devotees who have already made vows and intend to take part should treat 24 September as a hard opening date, not a soft reminder. HEB's August statement asked people to book as soon as registration goes live. The temple office number, 6223 4064, is the contact for questions that the website does not answer. Further updates, if HEB issues them, are expected on heb.org.sg and the board's Facebook page.
Practical Details
Event: Theemithi (Theemithi Vizha), Hindu fire-walking festival, including paalkudam, angaprathachanam, kumbiduthandam, and walking on or around the fire pit.
Festival day: 1 November 2026. Foot procession for male fire-pit walkers: Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to Sri Mariamman Temple. Procession start time has not been announced.
Festival opening: Kodiyetram (flag hoisting) on 17 August 2026. The festival runs over three months.
Online registration: Opens 24 September 2026 at heb.org.sg. No walk-in ticket sales at the temple. Ritual prices have not been announced.
Venues: Sri Mariamman Temple, 244 South Bridge Road, Singapore (fire-walking and main rites). Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, 397 Serangoon Road, Singapore (start of the male foot procession).
Nearest MRT: Chinatown (NE4/DT19) for Sri Mariamman Temple. Farrer Park (NE8) or Little India (NE7/DT12) for Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple.
Organiser: Hindu Endowments Board (HEB). Temple office: 6223 4064. Official pages: Hindu Endowments Board website and the HEB Facebook page.
