Esther 9:26

Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

They called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Pur, in the Persian language, signifies lot; and the feast of Purim or lots has a reference to the time having been pitched upon by Haman through the decision of the lot. In consequence of the signal national deliverance which divine Providence gave them from the infamous machinations of Haman, Mordecai ordered the Jews to commemorate that at event by an anniversary festival which was to last, for two days, in accordance with the two days' war of defense they had to maintain.

There was at first a slight difference in the time of this festival; because the Jews in the provinces, having defended themselves against their enemies on the 13th day, devoted the 14th day to festivity; whereas their brethren in Shushan, having extended that work over two days, did not observe their thanksgiving feast until the 15th day. But this was remedied by authority, which fixed the 14th and 15th days of Adar. It became a season of sunny memories to the universal body of the Jews; and, by the letters of Mordecai, dispersed through all parts of the Persian empire, it was established as an annual feast, the celebration of which is kept up still.

On both days of the feast the modern Jews read over the Megillah, or Book of Esther, in their synagogues. The copy read must not be printed, but written on vellum in the form of a roll; and the names of the ten sons of Haman are written on it in a special manner, being ranged, they say, like so many bodies on a gibbet. The reader must pronounce all these names in one breath. Whenever Haman's name is pronounced, they make a terrible noise in the synagogue. Some drum with their feet on the floor, and the boys have mallets with which they knock and make a noise. They prepare themselves for their carnival by a previous fast, which should continue three days, in imitation of Esther's; but they have mostly reduced it to one day (Yenning's 'Jewish Antiquities').

The fifth of September is the feast of Purim. Among those who came for medical assistance was a poor woman whose face was much injured from the gunpowder fired by one of those who were rejoicing in the feast of Purim ('Journal of a Missionary Tour in Palestine,' by James Barclay).