IRVINE : Purim Celebrated at Outdoor Carnival

Nine-year-old Jordana Marcus was playing Crown the Queen at a Purim carnival in Irvine on Sunday, concentrating hard on tossing a hoop over the neck of a soda bottle.

Jordana, of Irvine, knew she was supposed to dress up like a queen at the Purim carnival. And she knew that there would be rides, games and food to eat. But when asked to recount the story of the Purim holiday, Jordana just shrugged her shoulders.

“My mom and dad have been bringing me here every year,” she said with a smile. “It’s fun.”.

And that’s exactly what the day was for, Rabbi Mendel Duchman said. “It’s for the children to have fun and spread a tremendous message of freedom.”

About 300 Jews attended the outdoor carnival at the Chabad of Irvine Jewish Center--the group’s fifth annual Purim festival.

But the fun was not limited to the children. Adults were able to listen to music, learn traditional Jewish recipes and participate in a raffle.

Jeff Stalzman brought his two children--2-year-old Jesse and Sarah, 5--to the carnival.

“For me it’s tradition to celebrate the Purim carnival,” Stalzman said. “My parents took me to Purim festivals since I was a kid, and it was something I wanted my kids to be aware of.”

John Kachuck, 10, of Downey was having a good time throwing bean bags at the carnival. He had a crown on his head and a mustache painted on his face. “I’m King Ahasuerus,” he said.

“We’re partying because the king killed some guy who wanted to kill off all the Jews,” said John, who was in Irvine visiting his grandmother. “It happened a long, long time ago, though.”

The story goes something like this: About 2,300 years ago, the Persian King Ahasuerus threw a huge party to celebrate his reign over 127 provinces, from India to Ethipia. To show that he ruled at home as well, he ordered his wife, Queen Vashti, to display her charms before all the assembled nobles and princes.

Vashti refused. Afraid that the kingdom’s women would follow suit and disobey their husbands, Ahasuerus unceremoniously booted Vashti out of the palace and began a search for a new queen.

He summoned all the young maidens in his kingdom to his palace in Shushan and finally settled on Esther, unaware that she was Jewish.

Meanwhile, Ahasuerus’ right-hand man, Haman, was passing through the royal gates one day and became angry when Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, refused to bow down to him as others did. Haman went to the king and obtained an edict ordering that all Jews in the kingdom be put to death. A special gallows was built for Mordecai.

But at a banquet, Esther told the king that she too was a Jew and thus would have to be killed along with her people if Haman’s plans were carried out.

The king went outside and pondered his dilemma in the garden. When he came back in, Haman was on a couch with Esther, begging for her forgiveness. Ahasuerus thought he was begging for something else and ordered him hanged--on the gallows that was intended for Mordecai.

He also reversed his original decree and gave the Jews permission to slay their enemies. And they did, killing more than 75,000 of them. The next day, the 14th day of the month of Adar, they celebrated their good fortune and established the day as Purim, the Festival of Lots, a day of rejoicing.