Purim
Feb. 18, 2026
Also known as: Feast of Lots
Charles Preston
Britannica Editors
Top Questions
What is Purim in Jewish tradition, and when does it happen?
How is Purim celebrated?
What is the special pastry for Purim?
Purim, a joyous Jewish festival commemorating the survival of the Jews who, as narrated in the biblical Book of Esther, had been doomed to annihilation in Persia in the 5th century bce. The holiday occurs on the 14th of Adar in the Jewish calendar, falling in February or March on the Gregorian calendar. In Jerusalem, Shushan (in present-day Iran), and other ancient walled cities, the holiday is celebrated as Shushan Purim on the 15th of Adar. Of the many holidays in the Jewish calendar, Purim’s celebration of the Jews overcoming oppression—through the actions of a Jewish woman and her uncle—is one of the most jubilant and is marked with lively festivities, pageantry, and a special triangular pastry.
The Book of Esther begins with the refusal of King Ahasuerus’s wife, Queen Vashti, to come reveal her beauty at a banquet when he requested her to do so. It continues with his repudiation of her (her fate is unclear, with different sources suggesting she was demoted, killed, or banished) and his search for a new queen. Esther (she is also called in Hebrew: הדסה, Hadassah) is described as an orphan and the cousin of Mordecai, who had raised the young girl in Shushan during the Jews’ exile in Babylonia. Esther responds to the king’s search for a new wife and enters his harem to seek the queenship, but at the suggestion of Mordecai she does not reveal her Jewish heritage. She wins the king’s affection and becomes his wife. Meanwhile, Mordecai overhears a plot to assassinate Ahasuerus and passes the information on to Esther, who tells her new husband, crediting Mordecai, although he is not rewarded at the time.
The king promotes Haman, a descendant of the Amalekites, as his chief minister. Haman requires that all other nobles bow to him. Mordecai, however, refuses to bow to Haman. Haman, incensed that the Jewish Mordecai holds him in disdain, decides to eliminate all the Jews in the kingdom. He draws lots (Hebrew: פורים, purim) to decide on a date for the destruction of the Jews and sets a date for the month of Adar. Haman attempts to rationalize his plan to the king by describing the Jews as keeping themselves separate, having different customs, and disobeying the king’s laws. With the king’s permission, Haman decrees that on the 13th of Adar, all the Jews living under Persian rule should be slaughtered, and he builds a gallows specifically for Mordecai.
When word of the planned massacre reaches Esther, she exchanges messages with Mordecai, who convinces her to act in spite of her fearfulness that going uninvited to the king would be considered a transgression resulting in death, not to mention that her Jewish identity is still hidden. She requests Mordecai to instruct that all the Jews in town fast for three days. She then risks her life by going uninvited to the king to suggest holding a banquet for both him and Haman. That very night the king realizes he had not honored Mordecai for saving his life. He asks Haman, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Thinking that the king means to honor his chief minister, the haughty Haman advises having such a man be dressed in royal robes. When the king orders that Haman treat Mordecai in this royal fashion, Haman is humiliated and further bent on revenge.