Orthodox Jewish children in fancy dress celebrate the festival of Purim in the streets of Stamford Hill in north London on Sunday. TOLGA AKMEN/LNPThis fancy-dressed foursome clearly has a penchant for clowning around ... but what they’re celebrating was once no laughing matter. The four Orthodox Jewish children were among revellers at the annual festival of Purim yesterday, which took over the streets of Stamford Hill in north London. It’s said an advisor to the Persian king Ahasuerus, called Haman, planned to kill all the Jews in the Empire. Thousands of years on, the Jewish community celebrates Esther’s courage…

Source: The Times March 13, 2017 02:38 UTC