Squished between all the dentist appointments and teacher conferences on our calendars are those wonderful things called “holidays.” Or sometimes they’re called “birthdays” or even “parties.” For Bunchland families, there’s always a reason to celebrate.
- CITY: Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel
- Members: Hamutal, architect. Ido, architect. Gur, 8.5, adorable nature lover. Alma, 6, adorable future astronaut.
Purim is based on the story of the Jews’ kiboshing Haman’s evil plot to annihilate them, but in Israel it’s basically a huge day-long public celebration. Little kids and bankers alike wear costumes, dance, laugh and party in the street. And we’re not sure how closely this is observed, but the adults are encouraged to drink until they can’t tell the difference between good and evil. There’s even a word for it (ad delo yada). It’s the one time of year where everyone is free to be wild and mischievous and even cross-dress. Schoolchildren also trade homemade baskets of treats and blessings, which is just really nice. Hamutal tells us how her Tel Aviv family celebrates.
There is a festival where they close the streets, and there are stages with dancers and very loud music and small children, most of them having a lot of fun. It’s just a good time for small children. They wear costumes, and this is the time when they can wear something they want to wear all year. The boys turn into girls, the girls turn into superheroes or little princesses, it depends. Sometimes they change costumes during the holidays because they want to be several things. If they’re very small, they might be something from TV, like Bob the Builder, or animals, of course. If they’re grown-up, it depends on the gender and the work of the parent. People of Israel used to spend a lot of money buying things all the time. Now they put some thought into recycling costumes. It’s a nice trend.
Another thing people do in Israel is mishloach manot. People do it in their home, but also in the kindergarten and the schools, it’s very popular now. The children think about it like giving a present from one school to another. Sometimes children give it between themselves. It’s a holiday of giving. It’s nice. In my son’s school, the children are asked to make a lovely present with small toys and candies and nice words written on nicely-coloured paper to give to an anonymous fellow pupil. The children know about it, and it’s part of their way of thinking.
You can make your own mishloach manot for Purim! Here are Hamutal’s directions:
Put in a book or some kind of toy, like a doll. It can be something new or used, but it should be in very good shape. It has to be clean, and it has to look new to small kids. It should benefit young kids under 7 or 8.
You have to rewrap it very nice and very carefully. It has to look twinkling and very nice and shiny.
Put in something salty and something sweet, like candies. It should be something that will not become dust if under the packages, and not things that can be swallowed by small children.
The third part is brachas. The child should draw and paint a card and write something down in big letters that everybody can understand, even if they are very, very young or don’t know the langugage very well or can’t see very well. It has to be from the heart. Children can be very honest and lovely and giving. You just have to give them the opportunity.
Put everything in a basket or a box. It’s very simple, but the children come with packages in their hands and their eyes very shiny.
Gila from Jerusalem shared these photos of her kids dressed up for Purim, and this hilarious Purim story about her Uncle Moe:
He used to have a Purim seudah (that’s the meal you are supposed to have on Purim day). Everyone came (the whole family and sometimes people off the street). There was a lot of booze involved and costumes. Some of the men would try and give speeches pertaining to the portion of the week or the holiday while they were drunk, and they were usually very funny and people would start singing while they were talking. There was always a bunch of yeshiva guys [religious students] who would burst through the door singing and dancing, and then they’d just leave.
Bunchland wants to know how your family gets down. Email amanda@bunchfamily.ca
