Tonight, March 9th, Purim begins--it's a joyous, fun holiday, with a carnival atmosphere. Two of my grandchildren, Avigail and Joseph, will be dressed as Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire cat, and they will of course be adorable!
Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from a massacre. The beautiful Jewish heroine Queen Esther, the King's favorite (he did not know she was Jewish) persuaded him to save her people. The villain Haman who had planned the massacre was hanged.
To celebrate Purim, which usually falls in March, one month before Passover, Jews read aloud the book of Esther. It is customary, and lots of fun, to boo, hiss, and use noisemakers to blot out the name of Haman whenever it occurs in the reading. Children dress up for Purim parties and parades, adults are commanded to get drunk, and friends give each other gift baskets. Happy Purim!
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