Get your party on; Purim is almost here! The holiday is one of the most joyous and fun on the Jewish calendar, complete with everything from feasts to costumes to wine, all in honor of Queen Esther ...

Purim is widely depicted as the most thoroughly joyful of Jewish holidays — highlighted by celebrations that include costumes, skits, noisemakers and varying degrees of rowdiness. It celebrates the ...

I remember the first time I noticed something strange about the megillah, the biblical Book of Esther that is read aloud in synagogues worldwide today, on the Jewish holiday of Purim. It was ten years ...

The story of Purim dates back to the Persian Empire of the 4th century BCE. At the center of the story is King Ahasuerus, who met Esther, a Jewish girl at a mandatory beauty pageant he arranged with ...

Purim is a joyful springtime Jewish holiday. It celebrates the survival of the Jewish people in ancient Persia following a plot to massacre them all (a familiar theme throughout Jewish history). This ...

One of the most important customs of Purim, the Jewish holiday that begins at sundown Thursday and lasts through sundown Friday, is the giving of food. The practice, called mishloach manot in Hebrew, ...

For many Jews, Purim may be the holiday when five-year-olds dress up like Queen Esther and 25-year-olds drink “until they can’t tell the difference between Mordechai and Haman,” but in recent years, ...

Gifts, costumes, groggers, and above all: hamantaschen. All of these items commemorate the jolly Jewish holiday Purim. Each year, it is celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month “Adar,” which ...

When Purim falls on Friday, the custom is preferably to begin the meal before noon, out of respect for the Sabbath. Someone who didn’t manage to begin the meal before noon should try to start it at ...

Jewish communities are celebrating Purim this week. The festival allows even the most buttoned-down orthodox sects to let loose for a day of costumes and carousing, fuelled by religiously mandated ...