Note: The author of this article writes “G-d” with hyphenation to respect an interpretation of a Jewish rule about honoring the Holy One’s name.
Purim, or the Feast of Lots, is a Biblical Jewish festival known for extravagant costumes, the exchanging of gift baskets, performances, and a feast. This joyous celebration commemorates how ancient Jews were spared from massacre during the Persian Empire.
In 2025 (or ה’5785 on the Hebrew calendar) Purim begins at sundown on Thursday, March 13, and ends at nightfall on Friday, March 14. As the festival approaches, here are the basics you need to know to understand Purim, its origins, and what it symbolizes about Jewish survival.
What Is Purim? The Story of the Jewish Holiday
Purim is an annual festive holiday that celebrates a young Jewish woman’s heroic role in saving her people, and it may have been celebrated as far back as the 5th century B.C.E. That’s when the events described in the Book of Esther — the basis for Purim — are believed to have taken place.
The Book of Esther is one of five Scrolls, or Megillot, in the third section of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). These Scrolls are shorter Biblical books grouped together for liturgical use and traditionally read publicly in synagogues throughout the course of the year. The Book’s eponymous heroine, Esther, became the Queen of Persia, or ancient Iran, in the fifth century BCE, strategically hiding her Jewish identity from her husband, King Ahasuerus. Eventually, Esther bravely revealed her status as a Jewish person to convince the king to stop his antisemitic advisor, Haman, from annihilating the Jewish people of Persia.
Due to Esther’s courage, Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been arranged for Esther’s caregiver, Mordecai. Ahasuerus issued a new decree allowing the Jewish people to defend themselves against anyone who tried to kill them, and thus the Jewish people killed 75,000 attackers, including Haman’s 10 sons (Esther 9:10-13).
Esther had a lot to lose if revealing her identity had backfired and angered her husband. King Ahasuerus had executed his prior wife, Vashti — though some Biblical interpretations claim Vashti was deposed or banished, not killed. Plus, anyone who approached the king without being summoned was put to death, and Esther had not been summoned for 30 days.
Esther was initially hesitant to answer Mordecai’s pleas to reveal her true identity to Ahasuerus, but she decided to take a leap of faith. Her one condition, as she instructed Mordecai, was that the Jewish people of Shushan, the capital city of the Persian Empire, must hold a three-day long collective fast as a cry for salvation.
Esther said: “Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!” (Esther 4:16)
When Is Purim Celebrated? Is it the Same Day Every Year?
The festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th day of Adar, the second month of the Hebrew calendar, everywhere but Jerusalem. (In Jerusalem, Purim is celebrated on the 15th day of Adar and is called Shushan Purim). This means Purim typically falls during February or March. On leap years, an extra month — Adar II — is added, and Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of that month.
