calendar: PURIM

so when i talked about how one of my goals for 2013 is to observe the religious calendar, i have always meant both the christian calendar & the jewish calendar. at least, any holy days from these two calendars that have some significance & application to my walk with Christ. 

ever since i went through beth moore's esther bible study a couple of years ago, i have wanted to celebrate purim. 

purim is a feast day celebrated by the jewish people in remembrance of their deliverance from the evil haman. the story can be found in the book of esther, also known as the megillah. they were threatened by an edict demanding their destruction & annihilation because of haman's anger & pride. they were saved by God's providence, as He worked through a man of integrity named mordecai & his courageous niece, the queen at the time, esther. when the bad news came, it was a season of repentance & returning to the Lord for the jewish diaspora in babylon. after they were victorious against their enemies, they feasted & celebrated. mordecai then wrote to all jews in the land that they should observe this same day annually with feasting & celebrating, & also by giving presents of food to each other & gifts to the poor. 

there are four main requirements for purim:

1. the reading of the whole book of esther

2. a celebratory meal

3. giving gifts of food to friends & neighbors

4. giving to the poor

purim is not considered a sabbath feast, so you can carry on with business as usual the day of if it falls on a workday. as with all jewish days, it begins at sundown the night before & continues until sunset the next evening. some people will fast that day before in remembrance of the fast that esther called for. traditionally, jews will gather at the synagogue that first evening to hear "the whole megillah" read. my favorite part about this is the "blotting out" of haman's name -- whenever haman's name is said, everyone is supposed to make noise so you can't hear it. this is done by booing & hissing, noisemakers, &/or the stamping of your feet. you can even write haman's name on the soles of your shoes so that as you stamp your feet, his name is literally blotted out! and you cheer for mordecai when his name is read. "cursed be haman!" "blessed be mordecai!" the next day, the people gather to hear the book of esther read again & party it up with a feast, costumes, plays, drinking, laughing, & giving gifts. it is suggested that each adult must give two gifts of food to two different people, & each adult must give generously in some way to two different people in need.

with all this in mind [plus much more information from beth's study than i can keep in my leaky brain or recount here], i decided to have a purim dinner party.

last year, our dear friends bob & nan had us & three other couples over for passover. it was one of the most enriching experiences of my christian walk. shaun & i decided to invite our eight "passover peeps" to celebrate purim with us. we kinda waited till the last minute to do this, so only bob, nan, chuck, & betty were able to come. but did we ever have fun, the six of us!

before we gathered for the feast, we each found ways to give to others in need, whether it be through money or a visit or a meal. and we each brought gifts of food to exchange with one another.

here is a glimpse of the meal in pictures:

[it's important to set a fine table.] 

[blue & white are associated with judaism & mordecai.]

[we used our fine china for the first time ever.]

THE FEAST:

forgive the funky pictures... most were taken after the dinner!

FIRST COURSE:

i forgot to get a picture of the potato dumpling soup...

[sugared almond salad]

[homemade challah, traditional jewish braided bread]

MAIN COURSE:

[chickpea fritters served with tzatziki, a cucumber dill yogurt sauce]

i also forgot to take a picture of the roasted veggies: 

sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips & red onions with rosemary & feta]

[poppy seed fruit salad]

[more challah]

[wine & cider -- this is a scuppernong cider made in my home state, north carolina.]

you may have noticed the meal was vegetarian. i chose that so we could be kosher[ish] & still use dairy products like the tzatziki & feta cheese. 

in between the dinner & dessert, we read the whole megillah! we passed the bible around & each read one chapter until we had completed all ten of them. we would often pause between chapters to talk about things that struck us or questions we had. bob is very knowledgeable about the bible & a great teacher, & every one else at the table is an avid student of the bible, & i learned so much from them! i've never laughed so much while reading the bible. between trying to pronounce all the strange names & the blotting out of haman's name, i believe we captured the raucous spirit of purim! we booed & hissed & stamped our feet sometimes every time haman was said. for us christians, having never experienced purim before, it was quite the unique experience in scripture reading. we told bob we thought it should be a continued tradition in his sunday bible class!

[the megillah, the only book in the bible with no mention of God!]

DESSERT:

[the buffet set for dessert & coffee]

there are not many foods that are guaranteed purim feast traditions. nuts, seeds, & dried fruits are favored [seen in the sugared almond salad, chickpea fritters, & poppy seed fruit salad]. and there is one item that no purim feast worth its salt would be without: hamantashen. it means "haman's ears" or "haman's hats." according to historical record & legend, a person of position like haman would likely have worn a triangular hat. as for his ears, they are referred to as "twisted" for not listening to God. hamantashen are triangular cookies with some sort of fruit filling [or chocolate sometimes].

[hamantashen filled with cranberry-orange marmalade & peach preserves]

[dried fruit: dates, mango, & figs]

[chocolates topped with caramel & sea salt]

i don't have pictures of our gifts that we exchanged, but i loved it! there were homemade cookies & bars, maple chex mix [which shaun had to restrain himself from eating in one sitting!], wine, cheese & crackers, & more. 

we had a fabulous experience celebrating purim with our friends! as to its spiritual significance as a christian, here are some things we reflected on: God is still present in our lives today, even when He isn't "seen." He still delivers us by His mighty providence. celebration is important. taking the time to remember all the times He has rescued me, provided for me, & blessed me is a vital faith practice. every time i recount what He has done in my past, i am better able to believe He will be with me in my present & future. i can have faith when i can't see Him, when i feel like my prayers are going unanswered, when the unknown future is scary, & when i feel threatened by the enemy. when we remember & celebrate these experiences with God in our lives, we set up a memorial stone unto Him. just like samuel did when the israelites got the ark of the covenant back from the philistines. 

"thus far has the Lord helped us..." and He will help us again!