Purim

In my opinion, Purim is one of the most fun holidays in the Jewish religion, even before Hanukkah. It is often considered the Jewish version of Halloween but without witches and goblins. Also, because Purim is a national event for Jews, we do not “trick or treat” to people’s homes because most people do not celebrate the holiday. I am a reform Jew and I do not celebrate Purim like I used to. Although I do not celebrate it by dressing up or engaging in Purim activities, I never give up the opportunity to eat one of my favorite Jewish sweet treats – a hamentashen. When I attended Solomon Schechter Day School as a child, I remember dressing up for Purim and eating hamentashens. Hamentashens are the traditional cookie that we eat for Purim. My favorite hamentashens are chocolate filled but they are typically filled with jelly – prune, raspberry, strawberry, etc. “Purim is a festival that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people of the ancient Persian Empire from Haman's plot to annihilate them, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther” (Wikipedia.com). Purim is celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar and begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month Adar. As a child I never knew why we celebrated Purim, all I knew was that it was our version of Halloween. Although I am Jewish, as a child, I celebrated both Purim and Halloween. In my opinion, a Jewish child should celebrate both holidays because one is a Jewish tradition while the other is a holiday that all children should engage in by doing the traditional trick or treating in their neighborhoods.