The costumes for Purim occupy the whole family long before the month
of Adar.
The children plan every detail in their costume, whether it's purchased or
handmade.
What did the costumes of
the children in Palestine look like?
The Photograph Collection
of the CZA contains spectacular pictures of children in costumes from different
periods during the last century. Although we can't find superstars and movie
characters amongst the dressed-up children, it is surprising to discover that
there are still costumes relevant today, such as costumes of clowns, kings, and
Indians. At the same time, there are unique costumes that reflect main themes,
such as the Blue Box of the Jewish National Fund, locally made products, and
even the period of austerity in the 1950s.
You are invited to see for
yourself… Happy Purim!
The
winning costumes at the Purim carnival held in Tel Aviv, 1925:
clowns, a king, and
a student (PHG\1086197)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children dressed as Chinese
and as kings, Tel Aviv, 1928.
Keren Hayesod Collection (PHKH\1296484)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A boy and a girl dressed as a
sapling and as fruits of Palestine, Jerusalem, 1930.
Keren Hayesod Collection (NKH\454917)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A child disguised as
Joseph's dream (on his shoulders, groups of crops that represented the brothers
in the dream), Tel Aviv, 1930s. Keren Hayesod Collection (PHKH\1279661)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A girl dressed up as the Blue
Box of the JNF, the Adloyada in Tel Aviv, the early 1930s. Photographer:
Zvi Oron (NZO/630321)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A baby in a carriage disguised
as a clown, the Adloyada in Tel Aviv, early 1930s.
Photographer: Zvi Oron
(NZO/630367)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children with costumes
about locally made products, Jerusalem, 1937.
Photographer: Zvi Oron (NZO/638803)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two soldiers from the Royal
Air Force greeting children disguised as the American flag and a nurse,
Jerusalem, 1942. (PHG\1005472)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A girl with a costume about
the period of austerity in Israel (the "tzena"), Jerusalem, 1952.
Photographer:
Nadav Lerer, Keren Hayesod collection (NKH\454925)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purim in Kibbutz Hulata,
children in costumes of the Indians, 1957.
Keren Hayesod collection (NKH\455062)