Purim 2026

What this countdown tracks

Purim 2026 — the joyful Jewish festival commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people from a planned massacre in the Persian Empire — falling on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 (the 14th of Adar), with Shushan Purim observed in Jerusalem on March 4.

About this festival

Purim is celebrated on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar — except in cities walled at the time of Joshua (essentially only Jerusalem today), where it is observed on the 15th, known as Shushan Purim. The festival commemorates the events of the Book of Esther: in Achaemenid Persia, the Jewish queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai foiled the plot of the prime minister Haman to massacre the Jews of the empire on a single day. The lots (purim) cast by Haman to choose the date of the massacre give the festival its name.

The Megillah (the Scroll of Esther) is read aloud twice — once on the night the festival begins, and once the following morning — in synagogues and homes worldwide. The reading is participatory: every time Haman's name is mentioned, the congregation responds with shouts, foot-stamping, and the noise of greggers (ratchet noisemakers) to drown out the name. Haman's name appears 54 times in the Megillah, so the reading is interrupted 54 times.

Purim has four mitzvot (commandments): hearing the Megillah (qriat ha-megillah); giving gifts of food to friends (mishloach manot); giving charity to at least two poor people (matanot la'evyonim); and a festive meal (the seudah). Of all Jewish festivals it is the most joyous — the Talmud famously instructs Jews to drink "until they cannot tell the difference between blessed Mordechai and cursed Haman."

How it's observed

Purim is a costume-and-costume-parade festival comparable to the joy and pageantry of Mardi Gras or Halloween. Children and adults dress as characters from the Megillah — Esther, Mordechai, Haman, King Ahasuerus, Vashti — and the costumes range from biblically accurate to modern-comedy interpretations. Purim parades and synagogue parties feature elaborate costuming. In Israel the festival has become a national costume day; the streets of Tel Aviv on Purim resemble a country-wide masquerade ball.

The signature food of Purim is hamantaschen (Yiddish for "Haman's pockets") — triangular sweet pastries filled with poppy seeds, prune, apricot, chocolate, or fruit jam. Israelis call them oznei haman (Haman's ears). Mishloach manot — packages of at least two ready-to-eat foods — are exchanged between friends and neighbours; some households assemble dozens, even hundreds, of mishloach manot baskets.

The Megillah readings on the night of March 3 and the morning of March 4 (and continuing for one more day in Jerusalem and Shushan-Purim cities) are the festival's anchors. The Israel-only Adloyada parade in Holon is the country's largest Purim parade, drawing more than 100,000 spectators. In Brooklyn, the Crown Heights Lubavitch community runs an enormous public Purim seudah; the Five Towns and the Old City of Jerusalem are similar centres of festival activity.

Past observances

• March 14, 2025 — Purim 2025
• March 24, 2024 — Purim 2024
• March 7, 2023 — Purim 2023
• March 17, 2022 — Purim 2022
• February 26, 2021 — Purim 2021
• March 10, 2020 — Purim 2020

How to observe

Hebcal, Chabad.org and the Orthodox Union publish exact start and end times for Purim and Shushan Purim by city. The Adloyada parade in Holon is broadcast live by Israeli TV. Diaspora Jewish communities organise communal Megillah readings, costume competitions, and mishloach manot exchanges. Major synagogues offer Megillah readings throughout the day to accommodate workers.

Related countdowns

Purim 2026 sits in the wider Jewish calendar alongside Sukkot 2026, Tu BiShvat 2026, Tisha B'Av 2026 and the High Holy Days Rosh Hashanah 2026.

FAQ

When is Purim 2026? Tuesday, March 3, 2026 — the 14th of Adar. Shushan Purim (in Jerusalem) is March 4. What's the difference between Purim and Shushan Purim? Purim is observed on the 14th of Adar everywhere except in cities walled at the time of Joshua (today essentially only Jerusalem), where it is observed on the 15th. What are the four mitzvot of Purim? Hearing the Megillah; giving mishloach manot (food gifts); giving matanot la'evyonim (charity); and a festive meal. Why do people dress in costume? The custom may originate in the Megillah's themes of hidden identity (Esther concealing her Jewish identity at the Persian court) and the carnivalesque joy of the day.