Three Amazing Websites To Help You Celebrate Purim

Happy March! For those of us who are Jewish and/or interfaith, Purim begins this year on Wednesday evening, March 4, 2015, and continues through Thursday night, March 5^th. 

So what's Purim about?

Masks are part of Purim fun!

According to the website www.chabad.org, the Persian empire of the 4th century BCE extended over 127 lands, and all the Jews were its subjects. When King Ahasuerus had his wife executed for failing to follow his orders, he conducted a beauty pageant to find a new queen and a Jewish girl, Esther, found favor in his eyes. She became the new queen, while not letting Ahasuerus know she was Jewish. In the meantime, the anti-Semitic Haman was appointed prime minister of the empire. Mordechai, the leader of the Jews (and Esther’s cousin), defied the king’s orders and refused to bow to Haman. Haman was infuriated and convinced the king to issue a decree ordering the eradication of the Jews. Mordechai convinced the Jews to repent, fast and pray while Esther implored the kid and Haman to join her in a feast. Esther told the kid she was Jewish, Haman was hanged, Mordechai was appointed prime minister and a new decree was issued granting the Jews the right to defend themselves against their enemies.

The service for Purim is pretty unusual and a lot of fun, especially for kids. You're encouraged to dress in silly costumes and every time you hear Haman's name, you're supposed to interrupt the service with noise-making devices (as opposed to being quiet).

After extensive research, I found these three websites to help you and your little one get in the spirit of Purim:

1. Torahtots.com – A bright, fun website, kids can learn the story of Purim, how it's celebrated, about the foods associated with Purim and the site even has Purim trivia.
2. Chabad.org – This site offers games, crafts, printables, videos, songs, stories, music, and more! A MUST-LOOK if you celebrate Purim!
3. Aish.com  – Offers videos, recipes, coloring pages, tips on Purim costumes, a trivia page and even boasts a guideline for having a Purim Scavenger hunt. Fun!
   
   

Everyone loves Purim festivities, but there's deeper meaning. It's about courage, survival, and one woman who made a real difference to her people. Happy Purim! 

Please note that a version of this post appeared on www.thegeekparent.com. 

What To Do If You Don't Celebrate Halloween

You can still celebrate Fall even if you don't celebrate Halloween!

 

While my kids and I have always been into Halloween, my husband is NOT.  He hates it, seeing it as a wanton occasion when children are given permission to beg and inflict decay on their teeth; he always makes sure he works late that day.  Like him, I've met families over the years who don't like Halloween.  Maybe it's for religious reasons or personal ones, but they just don't participate in the holiday and don't want their children to, either.

So what can you do on Halloween if you don't celebrate it? Here are some suggestions:

1. Do something to celebrate Fall. Go apple or pumpkin picking, enjoy a hay ride, let the kids collect leaves, find a corn maze or attend a Fall festival. 
   
   
2. Host a Fall party or throw a sleepover for other families who don't celebrate.
   
   
3. Have an destination and/or fun activities planned.  Go bowling, to the movies, to the mall, have a treasure hunt in your backyard or turn your porch light off and hang an “out of candy” sign on your door to make that night a “family” night with plenty of games. What a blast!
   
   
4. If your kids are old enough, you might want to venture to a special restaurant (anything that doesn't serve Happy Meals) where there's less of a chance meeting trick-or-treaters.

Remember, as well, that you can always throw a costume party so your kids get the benefit of dressing up – just don't throw the costume party in October so you disassociate it with Halloween.

Halloween is an optional holiday. You don't HAVE to celebrate it. Try some of the activities above to make the day special for your kids. You'll be making memories they'll cherish for a lifetime.

Halloween is not a mandatory holiday!

Do you have any suggestions for alternatives to Halloween? Share! Share! Share!