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The Jewish holiday Purim starts on March 16. Here's what Purim is and how to celebrate it.

Gabbi ShawMar 15, 2022, 22:31 IST

A group of Orthodox Jewish boys dance and sing during the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 5, 2015.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Purim is a Jewish holiday that falls in February or March.
While it's known as the holiday when Jewish people dress in costumes, there's more to it than that.

What is Purim?

A man celebrates Purim in the streets of Jerusalem in 2021.Amir Levy/Getty Images

When is Purim?

A young Jewish girl called Esti dressed as a bunch of grapes in Stamford Hill during Purim, on February 26, 2021, in London, England.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

What is the history behind the holiday?

Illustration of a Purim Ball, circa 1880.Kean Collection/Getty Images

How do you celebrate Purim?

The Megillah.Laura Chiesa/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

So, is it like a Jewish version of Halloween?

Congregation members in costume give out mishloach manot, an important part of Purim, on February 26, 2021, in New York City.Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

I've heard about "graggers." What are they?

Then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon uses a gragger, a traditional Jewish rattle or noisemaker, as he reads from the Book of Esther during Purim festivities on March 8, 2004.Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images

What do you eat on Purim?

Hamantashen, a Jewish triangular filled-pocket cookie, usually associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim.Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

I moved from the UK to the US more than 10 years ago — here are 14 things I still miss