(March 7, 2023 / JNS) Purim was celebrated in Israel with all the usual fanfare of the holiday: costumes, parades, festive meals and parties, and, of course, with Megillah readings throughout the country.

The holiday started after sundown on Monday and continues through Tuesday evening.

Purim is also a time to give gifts to friends and neighbors (mishloach manot) and to donate to those in need.

A week before the Jewish Carnival of Purim, kids and adults of all ages try out costumes before buying them at the Hayat Bama store in Moshav Nov in the Golan Heights on Feb. 28, 2023. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90.

Reading the Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim in the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv on March 6, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Kids dress up for the Jewish holiday of Purim at a school in Katzrin in the Golan Heights, on March 5, 2023. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90.

Jews, some of them new immigrants read the Megillat Esther (the Story of Esther) during the Jewish holiday of Purim, in Katzrin in northern Israel on March 7, 2023. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90.

Israelis enjoy a parade in the city of Holon during the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 7, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Characters in the Purim parade in Holon during on March 7, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

A crowd of celebrants during Purim in the city of Bnei Brak on March 7, 2023. Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90.

Children in costume during Purim in the city of Bnei Brak on March 7, 2023. Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90.

A clown practices before taking part in the annual parade marking the Jewish holiday of Purim in Hebron on March 7, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Orthodox Jewish men and children read the Megillat Esther (Scroll of Esther) on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim inside Yeshiva Belz (Chassidic dynasty) in Jerusalem on March 7, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.