
Purim or the Festival of Lots
The holiday of Purim (Hebrew for lots), next to Hanukkah, is one of the joyous holidays. In Yiddish, purym means fate, destiny, which is why this day is also called the Festival of Lots (casting lots). It is supposed to have originated in one of the Jewish communities of the eastern Diaspora in the mid-2nd century BCE and owes its historical name to the events described in the Book of Esther ...