When it comes to the biblical or Hebrew/Jewish holidays, there are two categories.  There are those commanded in Leviticus 23, which God calls His feasts — six annual feasts and the weekly Sabbath.  And then there are Purim and Hanukkah, which are separate from these, each of which has its own source and significance.  So…what is Purim and how is it celebrated?

What is Purim?

The Purim story is the story of Esther.  Literally — the book of Esther in the Bible provides both the source and significance of this particular holiday.  Esther is only ten chapters long, so it can be read in a sitting, just like any non-theological storybook, and it usually is at Purim.  But to summarize:

The wife of the king of Persia rebelled against him publicly, so he set her aside and began searching for a new queen.  That spot was ultimately filled by Esther, a young Jewish woman living in the land, who had been raised by her Uncle Mordecai.  Their presence here was a consequence of the Jews’ having been taken into captivity by the Babylonians.  Mordecai had a habit of sitting in the gates and being attentive to all the local happenings.

The king’s right-hand man, Haman, decided he didn’t like the Jews because they didn’t bow to him, so he more-or-less tricked the king into passing an edict saying that on a given date, the natives of the land could attack and kill the Jews and take their stuff.  Mordecai discovered this and alerted Esther, who was ultimately able to use her position to bring this to the attention of the king, who was (apparently) previously unaware that she was, herself, a Jew.

He wasn’t able to overturn the edict, but was able to amend it so that the Jews were permitted to fight back and take their attackers’ stuff instead.  Haman was executed, Mordecai was honored, and the Jews prevailed.

“Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.”  (Esther 9:1)

So they established this day (actually a pair of days, as the Jews in the more far-reaching areas got word later than those in the city) as an ongoing holiday to celebrate and remember these events.

Purim in the Bible

But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.

And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur.”  (Esther 9:18-26a)

In Summary

So on the 13th of Adar, the Jews in the city of Shushan fought, and on the 14th had rest from their fighting.  In the rest of the land, the Jews fought on the 14th and on the 15th had rest from their fighting.  So the 14th and 15th are celebrated as the day(s) when it was over.

The Jewish calendar is lunar, while ours is solar, so although these dates don’t change, they seem to “move” as far as our calendar is concerned, and Purim falls in March or late February each year.

And because the lot — Pur — had been cast to determine when this intended destruction was to take place, the celebration was called Purim — “lots.”  (Casting lots is a bit like throwing dice or drawing straws.)

How is Purim Celebrated? Storytelling

The main element of a Purim celebration is the story.  Because it’s a holiday of remembrance, it’s important to remember what it’s intended to commemorate.  Traditionally, this is done by reading or telling the story of Esther, with cheers every time Esther or Mordecai are named, and boos, stomping, and other noisemaking to drown out Haman’s name whenever he’s mentioned.

This practice often incorporates the use of “groggers” (or “graggers”), which are a ratchet-style noisemaker that make a real racket when you spin them around.  You can use any kind of noisemaker you like, though, or a collection of percussion instruments, or even just stick with foot-stomping, booing, and hissing.

This storytelling may be a straight reading, or it can be acted out as a play or skit with costumes, or with dolls or puppets, or in other creative ways.

How Else is Purim Celebrated?

You may have also noticed that the Scripture text said these are also days of “feasting” and of gifts to each other and to the poor.  Food is always a key part of any holiday (that isn’t a fasting holiday), and the most iconic food for Purim is Hamantaschen — “Haman’s hats” — which are Purim cookies made in the shape of tricorn hats with fruit fillings.

In our home, we’ve chosen to keep the main idea of the flavor, but shift the theme to focus on Esther rather than Haman, by making thumbprint-style cookies we call “Esther’s Jewels.”

The gifts (“mishloach manot” — “sending of portions” — in Jewish parlance) typically given at this time of year are food baskets, which may contain Hamantaschen, along with other sweets, wine, nuts, etc.

Should Christians Celebrate Purim?

As previously noted, Purim is not one of the feasts God referred to as “His” feasts.  It isn’t commanded by God; it was established by Mordecai and Esther.  Technically, it’s a Jewish historical holiday, similar to America’s Independence Day.

However, there are some reasons Christians might want to celebrate it.  First of all, the celebration centers around the retelling of a narrative that is part of Scripture.  Reading — and getting the kids, in particular, engaged with — the book of Esther is certainly an edifying pursuit (although, of course, we don’t require a holiday to do that).

We, as Christians, are grafted into Israel, so the history of Israel, especially as recorded in the Old Testament, is, in some sense, our history, too.

Perhaps most notably, though, Purim is an opportunity to celebrate the faithfulness of the Lord in providing for His people — even when they were in exile for their former unfaithfulness.

But there is no obligation on Gentile Christians to celebrate Purim, either, so it’s each family’s decision whether it’s edifying enough for their to be value in their keeping it.