(1) Ms. Linda Goldfinger, 53, Activity Director of the Fireside Convalescent Hospital, portraying Haman, the evil & egotistical advisor to the king in the play 'The Purim Story' performs to a group of children from Garden of Angels on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. (2) Mr. Tony Simpson, 48, (portrays King Simpson), and Ms. Catherine Chardon, 97, (portrays Vashti) perform during the play. (3) Actors/Residents from left to right are Ms. Lorraine Pasternack, 90, (portrays Queen Esther), Ms. Sindy Hawke. 64, (portrays Mordechai), Mr. Tony Simpson, 48, (portrays King Simpson), and Ms. Catherine Chardon, 97, (portrays Vashti). (4) Children rattle the Purim gragger, also called "ra'ashan" (noisemaker), when Haman's name is mentioned during the play, as tradition dictates, to blot out the name of evil.

Purim is the most festive of Jewish holidays, a time of prizes, noisemakers, costumes and treats. The Festival of Purim commemorates a major victory over oppression and is recounted in the Megillah, the scroll of the story of Esther. Purim takes place on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar. This year (2009) Purim begins at sundown on the 09th of March.