Last night at sundown, the Jewish holiday of Purim started.
It is by far the best holiday out there. Here's why.
1. The story of Purim is very, very soap opera-y.
Queen Vashti lets it go in a Frozen #purim spiel at Temple Isaiah #chagsameach
Purim (it's pronounced POOR-im) is told in the Book of Esther in the Tanakh. And it's very, very dramatic.
The tl;dr version: A beautiful woman named Esther is taken into King Ahasuerus of Persia's harem and he falls for her and makes her his queen (but he doesn't know that she is secretly Jewish). Meanwhile, Esther's cousin Mordechai gets into an argument with the villain of our story, Haman.
Haman is an adviser to the King and an all around evil guy. Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman, and Haman gets pissed off about it, and orders all of the Jews in the kingdom killed.
2. And a little bit sexy.
#Purim Sameach! Celebrate the heroism of Queen Esther who exposed plot of evil Haman 2 murder the Jews of Persia
But THEN, using her ~feminine wiles~ Esther reveals Haman's plot to the King, and convinces him to stop Haman.
The King hangs Haman and his ten sons, and the Jews are saved.
3. On Purim, you're basically required to get wasted.
Purim is not about drinking. Purim is about being drunk with sincere happiness.
Happy Purim! A friendly reminder that it's a mitzvah to get wasted tonight.
Yo it's Purim tonight I'm gonna go home, put on costumes with mom, and get absolutely wine wasted
An ancient Jewish text contains this line: "A person is obligated to drink on Purim until he does not know the difference between 'cursed be Haman' and 'blessed be Mordechai.'" OK, yes, there is some debate over what exactly that means, but many Jews take it to mean, "Drink up!"
4. You also get to set off fireworks.
5. It's also a chance for you to show off dramatic flair....
6. ... and make a LOT of noise.
7. And maybe mess with your non-Jewish friends.
View this video on YouTube
A fun thing to try for your next Purim spiel: Make a non-Jewish friend play Haman, and watch his reaction when everyone starts booing.
8. Oh, and did I mention it's (kind of) Jewish Halloween?
9. But it's kind of the nicer version of Halloween.
Happy Purim from #Israel!
Technically, it's more like reverse Halloween. Kids hand out treats instead of receiving them.
10. There are a lot of cute kids out and about.
11. And costumes in places you wouldn't expect.
Purim is the only day of the year our soldiers get to go wild with color, and we don’t mean face paint for camouflage
Who knew flying on Purim could be so much fun?! Yesterday's #ELAL passengers got to enjoy a special Purim experience!
12. And as with every Jewish holiday, the most important thing is the food.
13. There are even hamantaschen eating competitions.
@KatzJCC #BBYO showing their eating strength at the #Hamantaschen eating contest!!! #KatzJCC
14. And hamantaschen-themed jewlery.
Do you have your pair of #hamantaschen earrings yet for #purim?! http://t.co/nbtOhQ14kz