In the Israeli Kindergarten school system, Purim begins two weeks before the actual holiday, with Hat Day, Pajamas Day, King and Queens Day, Inside Out Day etc. The last day of real school, they have Costume Day, in which children all over the country can be seen walking through the streets in festive dress of sorts, culminating in the kids being sent home earlier than usual because they are too hopped up on sugar to be manageable to their teachers.
Then begins vacation, a three day affair which includes, you guessed it, more costumes. The only real outfit that we bought this year was the bumble bee, which Raphaela wore on Costume Day. The other costumes were gifts from others, combined with recyclable parts from previous years. Every year we have a custom of going to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo in costume, and luckily I found a stash of Purim accessories, so my daughter will not Heaven Forbid wear a repeat costume.
It's like we are on a cruise ship, where you change outfits for every activity and every meal.
Not including of course the children's party and reading of the Story of Esther at the synagogue tomorrow night, or the feast at family friends on Friday.
As well, I have worn costume hats and make-up for the past two weeks, because seeing this holiday through the joy and wonderment of a little girl's eyes makes it all worth while. For the zoo, at my daughter's request, I will be a monarch butterfly, and for the feast on Friday, I will transform into the Tardis (Doctor Who), complete with temporary blue hair dye.
Because you only as young as you feel inside, and I plan on aging well.
Post-script: I will now share my most precious Purim secret IE how to get quality costumes for almost no money. Every year, the day after Halloween in the States, I go online with Raphaela to several good sites, and she picks out her preferred outfit for Purim. I ship it to my parents in Boston, and then they have three to four months to get it to me, either by sending it as a package or with friends who are visiting Israel. I pay about $10 a year, yesterday a friend told me that she paid $1 on a site, the day after Halloween.
3 comments:
your secret is not such a secret to frum people in the US...I also buy lights for my sukkah the day after Xmas
Before Purim even started I already had enough. It's just getting way too much- all this dressing up and sweets went out of proportions. I really like the holiday- but keep it to 2-3 days, thanks a lot...
We usually make our own costumes- so I start around January to ask the kids what they want- but many people I know order from the States.
Happy Purim anyway :-)
I also go discount chocolate shopping the day after Valentines day. :)
Haven't been by this blog in a while, your daughter is so big!! :) Glad to see you two are still doing well :)
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