Cait Charles
A costume party. Sweets. A festive atmosphere. Sounds like Halloween, right? Actually, no! It’s a holiday that’s celebrated in small communities all over the world every year at the end of winter…have you ever heard of it? There are people in every state in the US and many countries worldwide who celebrate it, and it’s called Purim. Before I tell you what Purim is and how it’s celebrated, I’m going to tell you the story that inspired it, because the story is almost as much fun as the holiday itself.
The Purim Story
Way back in the 5th century BCE, in ancient Persia, there was a super badass girlie called Esther. Esther was orphaned at a young age, so she lived with her cousin Mordechai, who was also her adoptive father. He may also have been her husband. Incest was a lot more popular back in the day.
During Esther’s time, there was this fearsome king called Ahasuerus. (Names today really aren’t what they once were, eh?) This king threw a 6-month ‘drinking feast’ as a display of his wealth, power, and generosity, and the final 7 days of this celebration were basically a massive, city-wide week of partying and mayhem, open to everyone, rich and poor alike. (Parties also aren’t anymore what they once were).
During this craziness, the king drunkenly requested his wife, Queen Vashti, to ‘display her beauty’ in front of the party guests while wearing her crown. Historians are unsure whether ‘display her beauty’ meant that she should be naked except for her crown, or simply clothed, with the addition of her crown–but either way, she drunkenly refused. So then the King drunkenly banished her. Or killed her. No one is really sure.
In any case, the king found himself without a queen. So, our boy Ahasuerus requested to see all the beautiful women in the kingdom in hopes of finding his new queen. And guess who he chose?! Esther! So off Esther went to become a queen. (No biggie that she may already have been married to her cousin.)
There was just one liiiitttttle slightly controversial detail she didn’t tell the king about herself, because Mordechai had advised her to keep it on the down low: Esther was Jewish.
Meanwhile, cousin Morty was working an official in the king’s court, and one day he overheard two palace guards plotting to kill the king! Precisely why, no one knows – maybe they couldn’t pronounce his name. Anyways, Mordechai tattled, the guards were hanged, and Mordechai’s service was written down in the court records. Remember that.
Around the same time, a dude called Haman was appointed as viceroy. He was kinda a dick, and he asked everyone to bow down to him. Mordechai, however, refused. Haman didn’t like that, so as revenge he convinced the king to issue a decree to kill all the Jews (Mordechai was one of them) on the 13th of the month. He didn’t specifically mention ‘Jews’, he just told the king that there were a group of people in the kingdom who didn’t live according to the rule of the king, but according to their own rules, and that the king should not tolerate them. He also offered the king a massive bribe, so that probably helped, too.
Morty sent word to Esther about what was happening and urged her to reveal her identity to the king in an attempt to thwart Haman’s evil plot. In his eyes, it was fate that Esther had been appointed queen in order to save their people. However, Esther knew that anyone who approached the king without being summoned could face death. Just look what happened to Queen Vashti!
So, Esther prayed and fasted for three days, and then she requested an audience with the king, despite the danger of doing so. She then convinced him to come to a banquet she would throw the next day, and to bring Haman. Party time.
The very same day, Haman constructed a gallows for Mordechai, intending to hang him there the following day.
That night, the king couldn’t sleep, so someone read him the court records aloud to lull him to sleep. That’s when he discovered that Mordechai had saved his life! He then asked Haman what should be done to recognize the person who saved his life. Thinking that the king is referring to him, Haman says that this person should be dressed in the king’s royal robes and led around on the king’s royal horse. Then, to Haman’s horror, the king instructed Haman to do this for Morty! Things were really starting to go downhill for Haman.
The next day at the banquet, Esther revealed her secret Jewish identity in front of everyone, including the king. She explained that all the Jews were to be killed. She then implored the king to stop this plot if he didn’t want her and her people to die.
When the king asked who would come up with such an evil plot, Esther said “Haman!” And guess what? The king then ordered that no Jews were to be killed. Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he himself had built for Mordechai, who went on to become the king’s second-in-command. Morty then instituted an annual celebration in honor of the fact that the Jews survived.
How Purim is Celebrated
‘Pur’ means ‘lots’ in Hebrew; since Haman decided which day to kill the Jews by casting lots, the holiday is called ‘Purim’. Jews worldwide mark Purim every year with raucous festivities.
Firstly, it is traditional on Purim to attend a public reading of the Megillah, or the Purim story. It’s a very long story (the one above is the condensed version) and it’s usually read aloud by a rabbi; in many cases, the rabbi reads it really really fast, almost like an auctioneer.
But there’s a special tradition that livens up an otherwise long lecture–every time Haman’s name is mentioned, the audience must shout “BOOOOO!” as loud as they can, stomps their feet, rattles noisemakers, or hits the table with their hands. Doing so is actually a biblical command intended to express disdain and erase the memory of Haman.
Aside from being biblically mandated, making noise is also really fun for kids who would otherwise be bored. Historically, sometimes Jewish children used to write Haman’s name on pieces of stone or wood, and bang them together as noisemakers.
Purim is also marked with costume parties in honor of Esther’s hidden Jewish identity; this part of the tradition has earned it the nickname ‘Jewish Halloween’.
Purim is indeed celebrated all over the world, since there are Jewish communities scattered around in so many places. For example, here’s a picture of a Purim party in Thailand, in which of a group of American Jews, Israelis, and people from various countries celebrated with a costume contest for costumes featuring natural materials:
Above: Purim party. Image by author.
And the most delicious part of Purim? Hamantaschen. These are pastries with a buttery dough and jam in the middle, in the shape of Haman’s silly triangular hat.
Above: First attempt at making homemade Hamantaschen last year. It’s surprisingly hard to get the shape right and to get the corners to stick together. But they still tasted good!
Ask a Jew what Purim is about, and they’ll probably sum it up with this catchphrase that is used to describe most Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat”.
Kayla Cosmos
Trevor Carlson
Cait Charles