Purim is a holiday in the Jewish religion that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from impending massacre orchestrated by the tyrant Haman. It is commemorated on the 14th day of the month of Adar on the Hebrew calendar which typically corresponds with mid-march on the Christian calendar.
The Story of Purim
The story of Purim is told in the biblical book of Esther and takes place in biblical Persia. The central participants of the story are the beautiful Esther, her cousin Mordechai, King Ahasueras of Persia and his evil advisor Haman. According to the bible, Ahasueras had his first wife, Vashti, killed for refusing his advances. He then undertook a huge search throughout his kingdom in order to find a new Queen. Esther, a young Jewish girl who did not want to be part of this was nevertheless presented to King Ahasueras and made part of his harem. Hiding her religion from the King, who great beauty and nobility soon enraptured the King and he made her his new Queen.
Soon after, Haman, a power hungry advisor gained favor with the king. Haman had particular hatred for a man named Mordechai, who refused to bow down to him because Mordechai was Jewish. This so enraged Haman that he plotted to persuade the King to allow him to kill all the Jews, convincing the King that the Jews had allegiance to their own god and not to the King.
At first scared for her own safety, Mordechai convinced Esther that it was up to her to appeal to the King’s sensible side and to save the Jews from certain destruction and Haman’s evil. The King agreed with Esther and had Haman hung from the gallows, saving the Jews of the Persian empire from death.
How Purim Is Celebrated
Purim is celebrated with the reading of the book of Esther in temple and publically. It is a festive occasion with celebrants donning the costumes of the various characters of the story of Purim, playing traditional music as well as giving gifts to charity as well as food to each other.
The traditional food of Purim is a kind of cookie called Hamantaschen, meaning “Haman’s pockets” which are supposed to represent Haman’s triangle shaped hat which he wore. They are filled with various fruit fillings typically prune, strawberry or cherry.
Other ways the holiday is commemorated include the putting on of plays telling the story of Purim. There is also a long-standing tradition that Purim is the only Jewish holiday that actually encourages drinking alcohol till inebriation until adults can’t tell the difference between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordechai”. Purim is a national holiday in Israel with many government offices closed as the nation takes a day to celebrate.
For more great information about the Purim holiday as well as links to great sites about Judiasm and Jewish holidays please visit www.Purim.me.
With Degrees in Film, Real Estate Finance and Development as well as Psychology, Robert Levin writes expert articles covering a broad range of issues. Some of his websites include: www.toptenmba.com, www.MBAonline.me, www.lawdegree.me, www.selfawareness101.com and www.tvwriter.me
