Happy Purim!

 Definition of a Jewish holiday:they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.

Well, that is certainly true about Purim, a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar.

Purim is based on the Book of Esther, where the evil Haman tried to kill all the Jews of Persia, but brave Queen Esther, with the help of her cousin Mordechai, saved her people.

The celebration of Purim feels like a combination of Mardi Gras, Halloween and April Fool’s Day.  

Costumes are worn to synagogue, where the Megillah (the Book of Esther) is read aloud.  Every time Haman is mentioned the congregation is encouraged to make a lot of noise to stamp out his name. Some synagogues hold a carnival, with games and prizes.  In some communities children go door to door begging for treats.  Some families exchange gifts of food — a fruit-filled pastry called hamantaschen is traditional. We also feast, and adults are told to drink enough alcoholic beverages so that we cannot tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai. Some people post satirical “news” articles in the same vein as April Fool’s Day pranks, 

All in all, a fun holiday. 

And it’s also the prompt to start preparing for Passover, which is exactly one month later.

What’s that, you say?  You thought Passover coincides with Holy Week and Easter.

Well, in most years you’d be correct.  But not this year.

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. Every month begins at the new moon.  Passover, which falls on the 15th day of Nisan, always arrives with the full moon.

Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring.  The vernal equinox was March 19,  the full moon occurs today (March 24) and Easter will be next Sunday, which explains the usual proximity of the two holidays

Passover is meant to be a spring holiday. But the lunar calendar is much shorter than the Gregorian calendar. I think it’s 11-12 days shorter.  The Islamic calendar is a pure lunar calendar, which is why you’ll find Muslims celebrating Ramadan right now but next year will be celebrating the holiday in February, and in January by 2028. The Jewish solution is to add a “leap month” every few years to keep the holidays aligned with the seasons.

So for Christians today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, a very solemn occasion.  But Jews are still doing our version of Mardi Gras,  and won’t observe Passover until April 22.

Happy Purim.