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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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