Purim, from The Seven Festivals

…in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to rule over them, it was turned around so that the Jews ruled over those who hated them…and the month was turned around for them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a festive day… (Esther 9:1, 22) Everything about Purim is 'turned around.' Purim transports Jews into a make-believe world where, for once, the lots come up lucky for them. Morcechai is victorious. Haman's plot is foiled. He leads a triumphant Mordechai through the streets, and then is hung on the very gallows he has constructed for the Jew. For the duration of a day, Jewish realities - exile, suffering and persecution - are turned upside down. Purim is an escape into fantasy celebrated with carnival noise and joyous pandemonium. Text from The Seven Festivals portfolio