[Sca-cooks] Hamantaschen

[kingstaste at mindspring.com]

Ah, another call for a holiday tradition retelling.  See how often this
comes up?  :)
Christianna

MAR 16 (*this is a variable date - Lunar Calendar)
Purim - Jewish - "The Feast of Lots".  Only a Jew named Mordechai refused to
bow to Haman, wicked advisor to King Ahasuerus of Persia, and Haman wanted
to kill the Jews.  He convinced the king to draw a lot (or pur) to decide
the day of slaughter.  But the king's beautiful queen, Esther, who was
Jewish, asked him to save her people, and the king remembered that Mordechai
had warned him of a plot on his life.  He proclaimed the Jews would live,
and hanged Haman on the gallows he had built for Mordechai.  On this day the
Book of Esther is read, and people drown out every mention of Haman with
noisemakers and stomping feet. Masks and costumes are worn, especially by
companies of amateur actors called Purim Shpieler (Purim Players), who act
out the Purim story. Triangular cakes filled with poppyseed or fruit are
served called Haman Taschen.  (‘Purim’ also means ‘dice’.)

From: "366 Days of Celebrations, or, A Year Full of Reasons to Throw a
Party" by Christine Seelye-King

(Somewhere I recall reading that the traditional filling of poppyseeds are
supposed to represent something - each seed stands for all the Jews that
were saved maybe?  I know someone can fill this part in...)


Sue Clemenger wrote:
>
> What's Hamantaschen?
> --maire