Purim - the Feast of Esther

Purim Dates
Purim Activities

We are not Jewish but a Bible-believing Christian family – so why would we celebrate a Jewish festival?

1. Firstly, our Saviour was a Jew, so He would have kept all the Jewish feasts, so we see no reason why we should not also embrace this tradition.
2. We believe that the command in Deuteronomy 6, to teach our children about our Father still applies and that is the purpose of most of the Jewish festivals.
3. Since many of the so-called Christian holidays, are actually pagan festivals that have been “Christianized” we prefer not to participate in some of them, so the Jewish Biblical holidays are an alternative.
4. As believers in Yeshua (or Jesus), we want our children to learn to recognize our Father’s plan for salvation through the Messiah in all of the Old Testament stories. Every story whispers his Name, we just need to be tuned in to hear it!

Celebrating Purim as Believers

According to our friend, Purim is celebrated with a party in fancy dress costumes. The Megillah, the scroll containing the biblical narrative of the Book of Esther, is read aloud to the children present.

You can read from the Bible or an abridged children’s bible, depending on the ages of the children present.

The children have to listen carefully for the mention of the name of Haman. Whenever his name is uttered, the children must shout and make a noise using rattles, shakers and other noise-makers called 'groggers' to drown out the name of this evil Jew-hating man.

For our party, we supplied the Hamantaschen and juice and asked our guests to bring some party snacks and treats too.

As believers, we not only learn about Esther and how she helped to deliver the Jewish nation, but also about the Messiah and God’s plan for salvation for all peoples.

Purim Activities

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Purim Dates

The holiday of Purim falls on the Hebrew calendar date of Adar 14. Here are the coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years:

2011: March 20
2012: March 8
2013: February 24
2014: March 16
2015: March 5

The Jewish calendar date begins at sundown of the night before. Thus holiday observances – such as the Megillah reading – begin the night before the dates listed above.

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