Purim in Israel

One of the most exciting and fun holidays in the Jewish calender is Purim. For those of you who do not know Purim is a holiday in which Jews commemorate the saving of their people in ancient Persia from destruction plotted by the wicked and evil Haman. The story is read on Purim in the book of Esther. The summary of the story is that Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai, who are Jewish, find out about a plot to destroy all of the Jews living in Persia. The plot was schemed by Haman who was an aide to King Ahasuerus. As for his punishment, Ahasuerus sentences Haman and his sons to death. The holiday is spent feasting, drinking, dressing up, and having a party. Its the Israeli and Jewish equivalent to Halloween. Kids dress up in costumes, receive candies, and of course oznei haman(hamantaschen). Oznei Haman are triangle shaped sugar cookies filled with jelly, chocolate or date spread. The literal translation is ears of Haman. During the reading of the Book of Esther it is customary to boo and make noise with noise makers when the reader says the name of Haman. The Purim season starts once you start to see oznei haman in the bakeries and the markets. As part of my volunteering, I celebrated with the children I work with. They dress up in costumes all week and do fun activities such as trying to eat a oznei haman without using their hands. When the weekend came around there were costume parades throughout Tel Aviv. Everyone was dressed up in a costume and probably drinking if they were of age. There were street parties in Florentine and near Shuk HaCarmel. There is even was a zombie walk which my friends and I missed, but it was fun anyways because we went to a street party which had a fantastic atmosphere. Everyone was enjoying themselves and celebrating Purim. I wish Purim in the States was just like it is here in Israel. It is a week long holiday, while in America it is not as festive. Purim is amazing in Israel and I cannot wait to experience the rest of the holidays here.