[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Jill

Anyone remember the story of Esther from the Old Testament?

"The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." (Esther 3:8). The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews."

Sound a little familiar? Kind of like Bin Laden wanting to destroy the "infidel" Westerners because they do not obey the laws of Islam?

"[Ester's cousin] Mordecai, [who had raised her as if she were his daughter], persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai."

Any guesses what happened next?

"19Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

20And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,

21To establish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

And every year for thousands of years, Jews have celebrated; not the demise of Haman, but the saving of our People. We are commanded to drink until we can no longer tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordechai", not to create debauchery, but "to dissolve the differences between us and encourage unity." "In addition to good food and lots of alcohol, the meal is characterized by its zany raucous atmosphere - trombones blare, silly string flies, and grown men dance together for hours on end."

If the events of the last 20+ years occurred during biblical times, the stories about which were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, to later be inscribed in a book, there is little doubt that it would be told very similarly. Good triumphed over evil. A mighty "King/Nation" took down the enemy to save the People who were the targets of said evil. And the People rejoiced at their salvation.

Thus is human nature. Perhaps because I've been celebrating in such a way for my entire life, based on a very similar story in history, I view the celebratory atmosphere through a different lens than others. I don't find it offensive, I find it cathartic.


Sources:
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm
http://purim.spike-jamie.com/meal.html
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays...y-Of-Purim.htm
http://kingjbible.com/esther/7.htm
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...+9&version=KJV

An interesting perspective, thanks Jill. Though, I'd have preferred to think that we as a society have become more civilised over the past 2-3000 years.