This photograph depicts a Purim adloyadah parade, although the date and place are unknown. There are two floats in the middle of the picture, parading down a street as part of the Purim procession. The float in the background is a reconstruction of Noah’s ark. There is a sign on the ark that reads, “Product of the Jerusalem Zoo,” and it seems as if a cage with a monkey has been placed on the top. In front of the ark is another float with three children wearing what look like pyjamas and night caps and sucking dummies. They appear to be standing in playpen. There is a boy in the back playing an accordion. Both floats are being pulled by donkeys, and an older man is holding the saddle of the donkey in the foreground. Crowds of people have gathered to watch the procession in front of an apartment block. More people stand watching the parade from their balconies.
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Purim - Purim is celebrated on the 14 Adar as the day the Jewish people were saved from destruction during the fourth century BCE. The heroine of the Purim story, Queen Esther, worked together with her uncle, Mordechai, to reverse the decree of genocide issued against the Jewish people by Haman, the vizier of Persia. It is the tradition on Purim to dress up in costumes, distribute small food packages known as mishloach manot, give charity, and listen to the reading of the Megilla – the Book of Esther.
Adloyada - The adloyada tradition began in 1912 in the early days of Tel Aviv. In the 1930s it was decided that each adloyada should have a theme. The adloyada tradition died out during World War II but was renewed in 1955. At the end of the 1960s the parade was moved from Tel Aviv to the neighbouring city of Holon. Today, these parades take place in many cities around Israel before or on Purim.
