Jewish people know how to party.

Especially on Purim when we are told straight up to eat, drink and be merry.

Just look at Israel where the streets are alive with revelry, with parades, with dancing and singing… and costumes… Ohhhh the costumes. It’s like the whole entire country becomes The Castro on Halloween.

And there’s a reason why we tear it up on Purim: We are celebrating the fact that long ago in Shushan, Persia, the wicked Haman wanted to annihilate the Jewish people, and through the bravery and creativity of the secretly-Jewish Queen Esther, we were saved. (The story is way more complicated than that, but that’s kind of it in a nutshell)

Back in the day — (i.e., in the ’80’s when I was a kid) it was customary for kids to dress up as one of the characters in the story of Purim. But now, especially in Israel, anything goes.

So here goes:

Send me your Purim pics, and I’ll add them: sarah@timesofisrael.com