Purim is celebrated on the 14th and 15th Adar (this year the 1st and 2nd of March). On the evening of the 13th Adar and on the morning of the 14th, the Megillat Esther (the scroll of Esther) is read in synagogues.
The Book of Esther tells the story of Haman, a minister at the time of King Xerxes in 485 - 465 BC, who wanted to destroy the Persian Jews. Haman chose the date of annihilation with one lot (in Hebrew: "Pur", several lots - in Hebrew: "Purim"), hence the name Purim. Only by intervention by the Jewess Esther (the wife of the king), was this project stopped and Haman received his just punishment.
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