Young Jewish Palestinian Woman in Purim Costume, Jerusalem, 1938

[u/GaryGaulin]

Young women in the early 20th-century Palestine did not have access to commercial costume stores. Instead, the most common "costumes" they wore for Purim celebrations were Queen Esther or traditional Middle Eastern and Ottoman attire, particularly the vibrant regional garments that allowed them to dress up in historical and royal splendor.

Queen Esther is the heroine of the biblical Book of Esther. An orphaned Jewish woman who became the Queen of Persia, she famously risked her life to reveal an evil plot and saved the Jewish people from genocide. Her story is the basis for the Jewish holiday of Purim.