In 2024, Jewish people begin to celebrate Purim at sunset on March 23 and it lasts through sunset on March 24. These are the ways in which we, as a Christian family, learned about Purim this year!
If you’ve never heard of Purim, it is a Jewish celebration of the historic events that occurred as recorded in the Book of Esther. The word, Purim, means Casting of Lots. The Jewish people celebrate on the 14th day of the month of Adar, according to the Jewish calendar.
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Books to Celebrate Purim
I set aside a whole week to read through the following stories, bumping our country studies aside:
Milk and Honey: A Year of Jewish Holidays
The section on Purim in this book begins with a history of the holiday. Then it goes on to describe how Jewish people celebrate it with gragers (noisemakers), purimspiels (Purim plays), and food. The most notable food for kids is a cookie called the hamantashen.
The book contains piano music and lyrics for two Purim songs: Yom Tov Purim (We Have A Day) and A Wicked Man. It also includes a script for reading or acting out. It has speaking and non-speaking roles.
The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays
This book also has a section about Purim, with a history and then a script for a Purim play. My kids found the story funny and delightful, “How K’tonton Masqueraded on Purim.”
Following this story are two craft ideas for Purim Puppets and Groggers. These looked fun but my kids weren’t interested. They did, however, want to make the recipe for Hamantaschen, which is the last bit in this section of the book.
The Jewish Holiday Craft Book
I want to mention this book even if we didn’t use it. This book contains the following Purim crafts: Purim Puppets, Purim Crowns, Haman Shaker, and Crown Treat Basket. There is also a brief description of the holiday and how to celebrate Purim at the beginning of the section.
Raisel’s Riddle
We are also reading Raisel’s Riddle as part of our Cinderella Stories Around the World study. Set in a Jewish community in Poland, Raisel wishes to attend the Purim Play. With the help of her fairy godmother, she attends dressed as Queen Esther and wins the heart of the Rabbi’s son with a riddle.
Baking Hamantaschen to Celebrate Purim
Purim Play
We enjoyed the themes behind this story! The kids are short a character for the Purim play and a neighbor, Mrs. Teplitzky, has been invited to fill in. The main character, Frannie, doesn’t particularly want her old neighbor to participate. One of the lovely lessons presented by this book is to keep an open mind and heart to new friends. The book’s endnotes contain the story of Purim, how to celebrate Purim, and a recipe for “Mama’s Famous ‘Bet-you-can’t eat-just-one Apricot-Orange Hamantaschen.”
My kids always want to make the recipes that appear at the end of stories. So do I… It’s a great way to make memories together! We actually followed a Hamantaschen recipe online. There is also a dairy-free version of the recipe.
Beyond!
In addition to reenacting a Purim play and eating Hamantaschen, which are traditional ways to celebrate Purim, we watched the following.
Youtube video: Book of Esther Summary: A Complete Animated Overview, by The Bible Project
This video does mention the word “sex” once at the end, and refers often to drunkenness. It keeps it real. It’s probably best for ages 10+.
DVD: Queen Esther, Filmed Live on Stage, by Sight and Sound
We paid to stream this during the pandemic, and it was quite good! I’m delighted that my library had this for us to check out and watch again.
Celebrate Purim
And there you have it, a way to celebrate another holiday through books, food, and media!