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TRADITION

holiday

· LENS C

Purim

How does this day look in different homes?

The Esther scroll, costumes, gifts of food, and a pastry map that runs from poppy-seed hamantaschen to Haman’s ears.

Reviewed 2026-07-30

Purim reads the Esther scroll from a megillah, drowns Haman’s name in noise, and commands gifts of food (mishloach manot) and charity. Every community bakes the villain differently, pockets, ears, eyes, and Tel Aviv has celebrated in the streets with carnivals since 1912, formalized as the Adloyada parade in 1932.

Purimholiday · documented
documented
many hands

Where does this tradition live?

Land geometry: Natural Earth 1:50m via world-atlas. Pins mark modern localities or representative regional anchors stored on Atlas place records, not historical borders and not reconstructed positions. · Sources & methods

VARIATIONS · ONE TRADITION, MANY HANDS

One tradition, many hands.

These are documented variations, not "authentic" vs. "adapted"; each belongs to its community.

Ashkenazi: hamantaschen

Triangular pockets filled with poppy seed (mohn), jam, or chocolate, "Haman’s pockets" in Yiddish tradition.

Sephardi: orejas de Haman / folares

Sephardi communities fry "Haman’s ears" (orejas de Haman) or bake folares, eggs nestled in decorated dough.

Iraqi: sambusak

Iraqi Jews fill savory sambusak pastries for the Purim table.

Persian: halva

Persian families prepare halva among the festival sweets.

Italian: chichiere

Italian Jews fry chichiere, crisp Purim pastries.

Moroccan: ojos de Haman

Moroccan Jews bake "Haman’s eyes", eggs baked into rounds of dough.

Yemenite: noise traditions

Yemenite congregations keep their own vigorous noise-making customs against Haman’s name.

IN TEXT & MEMORY

Where the record sits

Purim · Adar 14· calendar

Sources & review

  • Esther (megillah text)
  • Purim foods across communities
Reviewed 2026-07-30Know a documented variation we're missing?
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