Boo!

Happy Purim friends! We are celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. The happiest holiday of the year, when we ware costumes, have parties and generally celebrate life!!
Here's a digital layout I created with a photo of my pirate son.

For those of you who don't know what Purim is, here s the short version: The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen.The king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity. The villain of the story is Haman, who hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to him, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. She told the king of Haman's plot against her people and he overturned Haman's verdict. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The word "Purim" means "lots" and refers to the lottery that Haman used to choose the date for the Jews' massacre. It is customary to wear costumes and hold carnival-like celebrations. We are commanded to read the book of Esther as well as eat, drink and be merry. In addition, we are commanded to send out gifts of food or drink, and to make gifts to charity.

Here's a part of a children's pop-up book I created for my kids with photos of the same costume.

Have fun creating!

Einat