Source: DER STANDARD

From Friday to Sunday the Jewish community celebrated Purim

The book of Ester, a part of the Jewish Tanakh and therefore part of the Christian Old Testament, tells the story of the eponymous Queen. Through lent and prayers she is said to have foiled the plans of Haman, a high Persian official, to kill all Jews in the Persian Empire. Jewish people from all over the world now celebrate this mythical salvation as Purim.

It is a celebration, during which the liturgical earnestness takes a back seat for a few days. Since the Middle Ages, children and adults have been wearing costumes, which are nowadays also inspired by popular culture, they exchange gifts, read prayers, eat and drink together, “ad lo jada”, “until one no longer knows”. Lent is forbidden, joy obligatory.