According to the Book of Esther, in the Hebrew Bible, Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus (presumed to be Xerxes I of Persia), planned to kill all the Jews in the empire, but his plans were foiled by Mordecai and his adopted daughter Queen Esther. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing; Purim, celebrated the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar.
In our house Purim is the holiday marked by surprise cookies that arrive in the mail from aunt Kay and the subsequent exclamation, "Dang, is it purim already?" Ilana has some context and feels bad that she forgot. I have no context and honestly believe that if Kay sent us hamantaschen three times a year, I would think it was Purim every time.
The new narrative for Purim that I have developed is that it is a holiday where cookies get sent to the kids to remind them of their heritage. The arrival of the cookies is a complete surprise and prompts the telling of the story of Esther. Then the cookies magically disappear as everyone in the house sneaks cookies at any opportunity for the next couple of days.
Thanks aunt Kay!
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