March 1, 2018 (Thursday)
When is Purim? On our calendar (the Gregorian calendar) this year, it is today, March 1, 2018, which coincides with the fourteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar, which has 13 months, tied to the phases of the moon. The Fease of Purim lasts for two days.
Purim is the most festive of the Jewish Holidays. Children dress in costumes and people give gifts. Usually solemn synagogues are turned into festive arenas. Children shake noise makers called “Graggers”.
The festive holiday centers around Queen Esther, King Ahasuerus, Mordecai and Haman. The event took place in the fifth century, B.C. It is a celebration of a major victory against an ancient Jewish holocaust in the Persian Empire at that time.
Through unexpected and remarkable circumstances, Esther became the queen of Persia. Her uncle, Mordecai, who adopted Esther, was falsely accused and Haman, the villain, had a tall gallows built to execute him. There was a plot by Haman, discovered by Mordecai, to kill all the Jews, but Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king which she did, persuading him to have a banquet honoring worthy citizens. At the banquet, documents showed that Mordecai had saved the king from a vicious plot of assassination. Esther revealed Haman’s guilt to the king.
The Jewish nation was saved, Mordecai was honored and Haman was hung on his own gallows. (This is an oversimplification of the events of that time). Read the entire story in the Bible, in the Book of Esther. The Feast of Purim celebrates the saving of the Jews around 482 B.C., during the exile in Persia.