Sunday Snippet: Purim for Kids… and Hamantashen…

This week Jewish people around the world will be celebrating Purim which is a holiday that has been celebrated for countless generations dating back to the the Old Testament book of Esther. Esther, whose bravery saved the Jewish Nation from being massacred by an evil man named Haman. The point is its a chance to celebrate and a reason to read a book of the Bible to my kids.

This is a great story for kids, firstly it is short and the goodies are good and the baddies are really bad. It is by far Hood #3’s favorite Bible story. You can’t beat a story with a beautiful queen, an extremely powerful king and a wicked wicked advisor.

In summary, the story of Esther begins with King Xerxes who was married to Vashti. The King left Vashti when she didn’t obey him and he searched the land for the most beautiful woman. She turned out to be Esther and he didn’t know she was a Jew. The kings chief advisor was an evil man named Haman and he ordered that Jews through out the land be killed. Esther very bravely approached the King and told him of the wicked plot. The King was furious, the Jews were saved and Haman hung on the gallows.

To celebrate kids dress up in their favorite characters and and when the story is read aloud they shake their noismeakers, called graggers (Yiddish for rattle) every time they hear the name of wicked Haman. There are heaps of resources for Purim on the web…

Just follow these links:

• for more about the celebration,
• a purim quiz,
• Purim crafts for kids,
• Purim cookies
• coloring pages.

We don’t really need noisemakers in this house!!! But we do make a quick version of the traditional three cornered cookies called Hamantashen which are said to represent wicked Haman’s ears.

So here they are: Easy Hamantashen in Se7en Steps…

Meet the Players:

• You will need some flour to dust the counter top.
• Some castor sugar for sprinkling.
• A roll of puff pastry – that everyone keeps in their freezer for emergencies. Don’t they?
• And any type of jam you fancy.

Let’s Play the Game:

Step 1: Dust your counter top with flour.

Step 2: Roll your pastry out a little bit – not too flat! And cut out circle shapes.

Step 3: Add a small teaspoon of your chosen jam to the center of each circle.

Step 4: Make a pinch at the top of your circle.

Step 5: Make two pinches at the bottom corners and fold the sides up. You should have a three cornered shaped cookie!

Step 6: Place them on the baking tray and dust with castor sugar.

Step 7: Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for about five minutes.

That’s it you are done – hope you have fun!