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Purim: The Jewish festival in pictures

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Kids from Israel celebrating PurimImage source, Reuters
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Every year Jewish people from all over the world wear fancy dress to celebrate the beginning of the festival of Purim.

Image source, Dan Kitwood
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Purim celebrates the courage of a Jewish girl called Esther who married the King of Persia, and saved the Jewish people living there from being killed over 2000 years ago.

Image source, Reuters
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The king of Persia's adviser hatched a plan to kill all the Jews in the land, but Esther stopped it when she came forward as a Jew and stood up for her people. Esther told Jews to celebrate this special day.

Image source, Reuters
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People march in parades in different cities around the world. The most well known food eaten during Purim are pastries called Hamantaschen which are filled with poppy seeds. They eat seeds, because Esther only ate seeds while she lived in the King's palace.

Image source, Reuters
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Not only do people dress up but they also give gifts to their friends and the poor.

Image source, Getty Images
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Kids get their faces painted to join in the Purim festivities on the 9 and 10 March.