Purim

Purim (Hebrew: "lots") is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (usually dated to the 5th Century BCE).

Haman was the royal vizier to the Persian King Ahasuerus. His plans were foiled by Mordecai of the Tribe of Benjamin, and Esther, Mordecai's cousin and adopted daughter who had become Queen of Persia after her marriage to King Ahasuerus. The day deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing among Jews.

According to the Scroll of Esther: "They should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor."