Celebrating Purim with Purimania & Mouthwatering Gluten Free Hamentaschen!

Are you ready for Purim? Award-winning family performer Danna Banana, writer of classics like “The Goofball” and “Suddenly Summer”, is back with a new album entitled, Purimania, a stellar collection of tunes old and new celebrating the Jewish Holiday of Purim.

I love things that make holiday celebrations fast and easy – like a good recipe or a music mix. You don’t have to stress out about holiday celebrations – it can be easy and fun!

For Purim, let’s start with some easy to make cookies. Purim cookies are called Hamentaschen, literally “Haman’s hat” and are said to resemble the tricorn shaped hat of the purim story villian. My grandmother’s hand written Hamentaschen recipe is still the best ever, and I have also made Hamentaschen Pizza with mini pita bread in the past. This year is easier than ever… I’ve made gluten free Hamentaschen using a packaged gluten free sugar cookie mix and a filling that is 50% Date Spread and 50% chopped almonds.

Read on to discover more about the meaning Purim and how you can round out your celebration with the best kid’s music collection.

The story of Purim starts in the Persian Empire in the 4^th Century BCE and the Jews were subjects. King Ahasuerus had his wife, Queen Vashti, executed because she didn’t follow his orders, so he had a beauty contest to find a new queen. A beautiful maiden named Esther became his new queen, but she wouldn’t tell him her nationality.

During all this, a man named Haman became Prime Minister and he hated the Jews. Her cousin Mordechai who was the leader of the Jews, refused to bow to Haman. Haman got very angry and convinced the king to kill all the Jews on the 13th of Adar. Esther had a feast prepared and invited the king and Haman and at this feast, she told the king she was Jewish.

The king turned against Haman and he was killed. Mordechai became prime minister and the Jews were finally allowed to defend themselves against their enemies.

Defeating a plot to kill your people? That’s cause for a celebration. Cue the cookies, and the music.

Purim starts Wednesday night, February 28 and continues through Thursday, March 1, 2018, in the US (Ends March 2 in Israel).

Danna Banana is a well-loved performer with six albums out and numerous performances across the country. He is a John Lennon Songwriting Grand Prize Winner and named New York Magazine’s Best Party Entertainer. The New York Post called him a ‘ripe talent’ and a mom in New Jersey called him ’a piñata of listening pleasure’. Trained as an opera singer, he sang leading roles all over the country in such operas as La Boheme, Don Giovanni, and Carmen before turning his talents to children’s music.

While most of Danna Banana’s work is non-denominational music for kids, among his earlier albums include; Bananukah!, a celebration of Hanukah. That album’s success prompted him to create Purimania.

As in Bananukah!, Purimania mixes traditional songs with his own tuneful originals. Mr. Banana offers lively versions of classics like “In Shushan”, “Wicked Man”, and “Hag Purim” while “The Purimania Song” offers up his own whimsical version of the Purim story. In “Hamantaschen Party”, he uses recipes for Hamantaschen, the traditional cookie of Purim, as his lyric– both regular and gluten-free!

Check out Purimania! It’s the funniest, most danceable Purim music ever! Let’s party like it’s 330 B.C.!

Here’s the title video: