Purim also has its own traditional dishes, which include fried pastries known as "Haman's ears" (ozne Haman), and triangular buns or pastries filled with poppyseed, dates, prunes, etc., which in Yiddish are termed Hamentashen ("Haman's pockets"). A standard practice is for parents and relatives to give children Purim-gelt ("Purim money"), presents in cash.   

A mood of sanctioned frivolity characterizes the celebration. Barukh Mordekhai ("Blessed be Mordecai") and Arur Haman ("Cursed be Haman"), two phrases taken from the Shoshannat Ya'akov ("Lily of Jacob") hymn sung after the reading of the Book of Esther, have the same numerical value (502) in Hebrew. This prompted the rabbis to declare that on Purim it is laudable to become so intoxicated that "one can no longer tell the difference between the two" (Meg. 7b). From early times, the staging of masquerades, parodies, and satirical plays (the Yiddish Purim-shpil, for example) has been the order of the day; and in yeshivot (talmudic academies) one student would be chosen to act as the "Purim rabbi," imitating and poking fun at his teachers. The carnival spirit is particularly evident in modern Israel, where city streets are thronged with revelers and children decked out in an imaginative array of costumes. The best- known carnival parade (held in Tel-Aviv and elsewhere), is the Adloyada, a title based on the words ad de-lo yada ("until one can no logner tell the difference".

The celebration of Purim and the historicity of the events described sometimes aroused criticism. Scholars point out that there is no independent evidence for the Purim story and that this festival does not seem to convey an unambiguous ethical or religious message. Like Hanukkah, it has strong national overtones -- commemorating a historic triumph of the Jews over their bloodthirsty persecutors and the downfall of Haman, the archetypal anti- Semite. Through Purim's celebration year by year, Jews were able to renew their faith in God as their savior, and to momentarily forget the griefs and perils with which they had to contend in exile.