How to Celebrate Purim

The most rollicking holiday on the Jewish calendar, Purim marks the day Queen Esther of Persia outwitted her husband's evil henchman, Haman, who planned to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. Purim usually falls sometime in March, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar.

Things You'll Need

• Costumes
• Jewish Cookbooks
• Poppy Seeds
• Prunes
• Baking Supplies
• Noisemakers

Instructions

1. Read aloud the Megillat Esther, the Scroll of Esther, which tells the story of the playboy King Ahasuerus, his chief advisor Haman, and how Esther's wits saved her people from execution.

2. Make as much noise as you can every time the reader mentions the name "Haman." The idea is to drown out the sound of the name, so stamp your feet, shout, twirl noise-makers or bang drums.

3. Have your kids dress up in costumes and stage skits that tell the story of the holiday.

4. Give gifts, called mishloach manot, to your friends and family.

5. Serve Hamantaschen, cakes made in the shape of Haman's three-cornered hat and filled with prunes or poppyseeds. You'll find recipes in Jewish cookbooks.

Tips & Warnings

• Purim is known as the Feast of Lots because Haman chose a date for the mass killing by casting lots, or purim.