Chag Purim Sameach!

Right now we are bang in the middle of the festival of Purim. Well, today is actually a minor fast day which commemorates Esther's three days of fasting in preparation for her meeting with the king (I have previously written a little of the history of the holiday both here and here) but tonight we will go to the synagogue to hear the reading of the Book of Esther and the festivities will really begin!

Purim is one of the most entertaining Jewish holidays. When else can you dress up like a penguin or Angry Bird, or in my own kids' cases, as a punk rocker and a fried egg, and eat chocolate and other sweet goodies for several days without feeling too much guilt?

The  festival pays tribute to the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther. The story of Purim is told in the Book of Esther, known as the Megillah, which means 'scroll'. Esther was a Jewish girl who became Queen to King Xerxes of Persia 2000 years ago, and through her bravery was able to thwart an attempt to slaughter all the Jews living in Persia. Purim commemorates Esther's courage in saving the Jewish people and the reading of the Megillah is usually an entertaining and rowdy occasion when everyone in the synagogue boos and hisses whenever the name of Haman, the favourite nobleman of King Xerxes and the villain of the Purim story, is mentioned during the service.

On Purim Jews are also commanded to send gifts of food and drink, referred to as the 'sending out portions' or in Hebrew, Mishloach Manot. A common treat to be included in these food baskets are 'Haman's pockets', sometimes called Hamantashen or Oznei Haman. These triangular fruit-filled cookies supposedly represent either Haman's three-cornered hat or his ears! My own Purim gifts include some giant chocolate chip cookies, above, which you can find the recipe for here.
It is also customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim and yesterday my city held their own parade. The sun duly came out after the parade had been postponed last week because of heavy rain. My eldest son was walking in the parade with his youth group and the youngest and I waited for quite some time to see him pass. We were ready to come home by the end but, after a good night's sleep the Purim costumes and hair gel came out again, and we are ready for the fun to begin again this evening. Chag Purim Sameach! Happy Purim to you all!