Chag Purim sameach!* One of the most joyous holidays in the Jewish calendar, Purim commemorates the story in the Book of Esther wherein Esther and her cousin Mordechai defeat the court official Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews in Persia. This was done by Esther revealing that she was Jewish to her husband, King Ahasuerus of Persia (thought, opens a new window to be either King Xerxes I or his son Artaxerxes I), after learning from Mordechai that Haman had ordered all the Jews be killed. Purim is held on the 14th of Adar, which generally falls in March in the Gregorian Calendar.
Among the most important practices for Purim is listening to a live reading of the Book of Esther, along with additional commentaries and instructions for the commemoration (these commentaries, along with the text of the Book of Esther, are contained together in the Megillah, or Scroll, of the Hebrew Bible). These readings usually occur in a synagogue and happen both in the evening and on the following morning. It is customary during the reading to boo, hiss, stamp feet, and rattle noisemakers whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the service in order to symbolically “blot” his name out.;
Outside of the reading, it is customary to give charity to the poor, send food gifts to friends, and to enjoy both feasting and partying overall. Traditional foods seen on Purim include triangular pastries called Hamentaschen,, opens a new window often filled with fruit and named and shaped after the hat Haman wore. Vegetarian meals are also common since, according to tradition, Queen Esther only ate seeds, nuts, legumes and green vegetables, as she did not have access to kosher food, opens a new window otherwise. Other traditions of the day include masquerade parties and burning effigies of Haman.
*Happy Purim Holiday in Hebrew
For more information, check out the following books, all of which have information and activities that you can also share with your kids as well.
Explore the Jewish festival of Purim with these nine family-friendly books.
