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Song, dance, costumes and wine at the Jewish festival of Purim
This version of Song Dance Costumes Wine Jewish Festival Purim Flna381605 - Breaking News | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
epa03137672 Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men dance and sing during a celebrations for the holiday of Purim at the Matmidim Hasidic dynasty synagogue in Jerusalem, Israel, 08 March 2012. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther. EPA/ABIR SULTANABIR SULTAN / EPA
An Ultra Orthodox Jewish girl dressed as a bride during purim festival in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March. 8, 2012. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther.(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)Oded Balilty / AP
BENEI, BRAK ISRAEL - MARCH 08: A boy looks out of a window as Ultra Orthodox Jews celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 8, 2012 in Benei Brak, Israel. The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)Uriel Sinai / Getty Images
A child dressed in a clown costume, participates with other Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in the Purim festival at a synagogue in Jerusalem, Thursday, March 8, 2012. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)Bernat Armangue / AP
epa03137672 Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men dance and sing during a celebrations for the holiday of Purim at the Matmidim Hasidic dynasty synagogue in Jerusalem, Israel, 08 March 2012. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther. EPA/ABIR SULTANABIR SULTAN / EPA
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man hands out a bottle of wine during celebrations for the holiday of Purim at the Belz Hasidic dynasty synagogue in Jerusalem March 8, 2012. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY)BAZ RATNER / Reuters
Ultra-Orthodox Jews belonging to the Tholdot Avraham Yitzhak Hasidic sit and lay during the Jewish festival of Purim late on March 8, 2012 in Beit Shemesh, a religious town near Jerusalem. Purim marks the deliverance of the Jewish people from a genocidal plot in ancient Persia, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP - Getty Images
The tale behind the festival — which was celebrated between sunset on Wednesday and nightfall on Thursday — involves a Persian king, his prime minister, Haman (the bad guy) who had it out for the Jews, and a community leader named Mordecai. Basically, Mordecai and his stepdaughter Esther, who became the queen (of the good guys), save their people.
