Purim

So today was Purim...the Jewish holiday celebrating the book of Esther.  Kari--the children's ministry director-- "threw the idea out there" that maybe the 5 & 6th grade Sunday school class that Janice and I teach would like to learn about Purim and celebrate it.  Oh!  And wouldn't it be such a shame if we went to all the work to have a Purim party for our 9 kids and all of the younger classes missed out?!

Janice and I took the bait-- it sounded so fun!  Our class could do a skit... the little ones could make a craft... then we would all eat cookies and be happy.  And that's pretty much how it went...with a lot of work behind the scenes.

The craft the kiddos made were called groggers.  A decorated paper plate folded in half, filled with beans, then fastened shut.  Essentially, a noisemaker.  The purpose of these groggers is that during the traditional reading of the book of Esther or (as was the case with us) a dramatic interpretation of the story, every time Haman is mentioned, the kiddos shake the noisemakers and boo...tons of fun.

The cookies that we made were called Hamentaschen, which I think means "Haman's Ears."  Below is a picture of the process and the final product.

All in all a good time was had by all.