Purim (Festival of Lots)
. . . is celebrated 1 day in February or March.
. . . tells the story of a good queen and a bad man.
Esther was the good queen and Haman was the bad man. They lived a
long time ago in Persia. Haman was the king's chief minister. He had quarreled
with a Jew who refused to bow to Haman. Haman disliked Jews and he made a plan to
kill all the Jews in Persia. He went to the king and told him lies about the Jews so
he would order their killings. The king agreed to kill the Jews. Haman drew
lots to determine the day that the killings would take place. Purim is a word for
"lots."
Queen Esther heard about this. The king didn't know it but she was
a Jew. She decided that she must save the Jews. She had to persuade the king
to change his mind. It was dangerous for her but she was brave. She invited
the king and Haman to a feast. Then she told the king the real reason why Haman
wanted to kill the Jews. The king ordered that Haman be killed and all the Jews were
saved.
At the festival of Purim, the story of how this happened is read in the
synagogue. Every time the children hear the name of Haman they make as much noise as
they can. They stomp their feet, use special rattles (gragers) and whistles.
They do this so Haman's name cannot be heard at all.
Children often go to formal parties. Sometimes they put on plays to
show the story.
Jews give money to charity and give gifts of food to each other so even
the poor people can celebrate with a special meal.