Purim | |
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Type | Jewish |
Significance | Celebration of Jewish deliverance as told in the Book of Esther (megillah) |
Celebrations |
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Date | 14th day of Adar (in Jerusalem and all ancient walled cities, 15th of Adar) |
2023 date | Sunset, 6 March – nightfall, 7 March |
2024 date | Sunset, 23 March – nightfall, 24 March |
2025 date | Sunset, 13 March – nightfall, 14 March |
2026 date | Sunset, 2 March – nightfall, 3 March |
Frequency | Annual |
Started by | Esther |
Related to | Hanukkah, as a rabbinically decreed Jewish holiday |
Part of a series on |
Jews and Judaism |
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Purim (/ˈpʊərɪm/;[1] פּוּרִים , lit. 'lots'; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther.
Haman was the royal vizier to the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I or Artaxerxes I; Khshayarsha and Artakhsher in Old Persian, respectively).[2][3][4][5] His plans were foiled by Mordecai of the tribe of Benjamin, and Esther, Mordecai's cousin and adopted daughter who had become queen of Persia after her marriage to Ahasuerus.[6] The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing among Jews.
According to the Scroll of Esther,[7] "they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor". Purim is celebrated among Jews by:
Other customs include wearing masks and costumes, public celebrations and parades (Adloyada), eating hamantashen (transl. "Haman's ears"), and drinking wine.[11]
According to the Hebrew calendar, Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar (and it is celebrated in Adar II in Hebrew leap years, which occur 7 times in every 19 years), the day following the victory of the Jews over their enemies, the 13th of Adar, a date now observed in most years with the fast of Esther.
In cities that were protected by a surrounding wall at the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month of Adar on what is known as Shushan Purim, since fighting in the walled city of Shushan continued through the 14th day of Adar.[12] Today, only in Jerusalem Purim is observed on the 15th, and in several other biblical settlements (such as Hebron and Shilo) it is celebrated on both dates because of doubts regarding their status as cities surrounded by a wall since the days of Joshua.