In the US, Halloween is usually fun night out. A chance to get dressed up in a way you don't normally have the nerve to, party, drink. But what about Purim. Jews sometimes describe Purim to those that don't know as the Jewish Halloween, but that isn't really the case in the US. Purim in Israel, however, is an entirely different affair.
What I should mention first, and it's something that I just learned, after 25 years of being a Jew, is that there is a fast before Purim. And that Purim is considered one of the holiest days of the year. That said, there are certain things that we are told to do on Purim. One of those is, "to drink until you can't tell Haman from Mordechai" (or Mordechai from Esther).
This year, Purim fell on Sunday. The weekend here in Israel is Friday and Saturday, meaning that the Purim parties started on Thursday night. And since we didn't have class on Sunday, went through Sunday. Thursday afternoon, walking down the street, people were already in costume. Kids, of course, adults, teens...
I went on Saturday night (Purim Eve) to a neighborhood called Florentine. There is usually a street party. We had heard it was canceled, but decided to try a bar there anyways. When we arrived, there were people filling the street (which is what the picture tries to show). Hundreds of people in costume on the streets. Music coming from balconies and bars in the area. Awesome vibe because, Purim is about celebrating and rejoicing, and people take that seriously.
For someone who's not the biggest fan of Halloween, Purim was a nice surprise.
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