Purim – Making the Most Out of it

Purim – Making the Most Out of it 

Purim is one of the greatest days of the year in the Jewish calendar. Celebrated and well-known on the 14th day of the Adar, the day is fun-filled and thrilling because the Jewish celebrated it to mark their victory over a plan to have them killed in the ancient Persia. Here are what you need to know regarding the Purim celebrations.

Why and How Purim is Celebrated

In case you didn’t know. Here is a brief history about Purim. The last book of Tanach to be canonized is the book of Esther. Purim celebrates the events that are described in this book. In the story, King Achashverosh of Persia was married to Vashti. Later he divorced her through the ancient methods of having her assassinated just simply because she openly refused to come to him during a festival party.

Meanwhile, the leader in the Jewish community named Mordecai had a cousin by the name Esther. Esther becomes the new wife of the king, but no one knew that she was a Jew. The advisor to the king-Haman hated all the Jews and had plans to kill them especially after Mordecai refused to obeisance to him publicly. He got the permission from the king to kill all the Jews. It is on this note that Mordecai begs Esther to save her people. Later, Esther invites Haman and the king to a meal, and it is during this time that Esther reveals her identity and pleads with the king to save her people. The king became furious and had Haman hanged.

Finally, the king decrees that the Jews should live and they are also allowed to kill their enemies. Henceforth, the day after the battle was named Purim which signifies rejoicing and feasting up to today.