Purim celebrates the deliverance of Jews of the Persian Empire (5th century BC). According to the Book of Esther in the Old Testament of the Bible, Jewish people in ancient Persia were saved from Haman, the prime minister of the King “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.”

The ploy was interrupted by the timely intervention of Jewish Queen Hadassah, who prevented the genocide.

All this happened when King, removed his Queen, Vashti, from the throne when she refused to appear before him during a feast to display to the people her beauty.

A Jewish girl, by the name Hadassah, whose Persian name was Esther, was selected as the new bride in a pageant organised by the King. The new Queen happened to be the cousin and ward of Mordecai, an eminent and devout Jewish leader of Shushan, a capital of the Persian Empire. But Haman, despised him and the Jewish people so much that he obtained a royal edict to annihilate them on the ground that “their laws are diverse from those of every people”.

When Esther heard the news, she revealed her Jewish identity to the King and convinced him of Haman’s intentions. Thereby, the edict was withdrawn and Haman and his associates were sentenced to death.

The courage of Esther is celebrated as a day of deliverance throughout the world by the Jewish diaspora in the form of Purim, which began this year on Wednesday, March 20, and will end today, March 21, at sundown in Israel.

The Jews commemorate this event through various customs and traditions, including charity, exchanging gifts, masquerading and participating in song and dance activities and also sending sweets to each other.

The Jewish festival is celebrated around the same time as Indian festival of Holi.

Holi and Purim are therefore, similar in regard to standing up to evil in order to achieve good. The story of Prahalad, Holika and the evil King Hiranyakashyap from the Hindu mythology, ring similar bells.

Both festivals have a similar celebration style, music, dance, sweets, giving-gifts, and most interestingly the chance to question the status quo.

Purim involves celebrations that include cross-dressing, masquerading; a celebratory style that echoes with how Holi was and is still celebrated in many parts of the country. The “carnivalesque” is common to both festivals.

Intoxication is also a common factor in both festivals. Purim is an alcohol-imbued holiday and Holi is celebrated with Bhaang and cannabis in many parts of the country.

Another commonality between both festivals is its staple sweet-dish.

Similar to gujiya, hamantaschen is the classic staple sweet dish of the Purim festival. Interestingly, the name of the sweetmeat is based on the name of the evil character of the story – Haman. In Hebrew, tash means to weaken, and perhaps the sweetmeat has a symbolic reference to weakening or defeating of Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people.

There are, in fact, many references associated with the sweet; a reference to the defeated enemy’s ears, poppy seed-filled pouches or pockets, which perhaps refer to the money that some suggest was offered to King Ahasuerus in exchange for permission to destroy the Jews.

Hamantaschen are made with different fillings, including poppy seed, prunes, nut, date, apricot, raspberry, raisins, caramel and even cheese. The shape of the sweet is achieved by folding in the sides of a circular piece of dough with a filling placed in the centre, similar to gujiya, which are dal dumplings that are filled with the desired filling.

This Holi, enjoy the sweetness of both.

Happy Purim and Happy Holi to all!