The festival of Purim is a happy occasion. It's celebrated with more fun and frolic than during any other Jewish holiday. Purim commemorates a historical episode packed with court intrigue, convoluted plots, revelry and insobriety, a cast of characters possessed of every human trait from treachery to jealousy to courage, the near annihilation of the Jewish population, and, finally, its deliverance at the hands of a beautiful damsel.