Fruit • Gourd • Halloween • Squash
Purim
Purim is the most festive Jewish holiday.
It is also called the Feast of Lots. The
holiday celebrates a time when Jews in
Persia (now Iran) escaped a plot to harm
them. Purim usually falls in late February
or early March.
In the 400s BCHaman, the Persian king’s
adviser, plotted to kill all the Persian
Jews.To choose a day for the killings, he
drew lots (which means that he picked a
day by chance). But the Persian queen, a
Jewish woman named Esther, convinced
the king to stopHaman. This story is
told in the Book of Esther in the Bible.
On Purim Jews go to a synagogue and
listen to a reading of the Book of Esther.
Afterward family and friends have a festive
meal. The celebration often includes
acting out the story and playing games.
People exchange gifts of food and give to
the poor. They also eat pastries called
hamantaschen, which means “Haman’s
pockets.” The pastries are supposed to
resemble Haman’s three-cornered hat.
#More to explore
Judaism • Persia
Puritans
Puritans were people who wanted to
“purify,” or simplify, the Church of
England. This church had broken away
from Roman Catholicism during a
period called the Protestant Reformation.
However, the Puritans felt that the
Church of England had kept too many
Catholic practices. Some Puritans, called
Separatists, formed their own churches.
Others just wanted to change the existing
church.
Many officials in England did not
approve of the Puritans. The king and
other English people often mistreated
the Puritans. They called the Puritans
“roundheads” because they wore their
hair short instead of in long curls.
Children dance in Jerusalem to celebrate
Purim.
168 Purim BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Puritans in America
In 1620 a group of Puritan Separatists,
now called the Pilgrims, left England to
escape mistreatment. They crossed the
Atlantic Ocean in a ship called the Mayflower.
After reaching North America,
they founded Plymouth Colony in what
is now Massachusetts.
Several years later, another group of
Puritans left England to find religious
freedom. They set up the Massachusetts
Bay Colony in 1630. Both of these
groups eventually became known as
Congregationalists.
Puritans in England
In England the Puritan spirit spread
throughout society. Although the king
disapproved of the Puritans, many of the
common people shared their beliefs.
Many leaders in Parliament also listened
to the Puritans.
In 1642 civil war broke out between
supporters of Parliament and the king.
King Charles was defeated and later
executed in January 1649. The Puritan
leader Oliver Cromwell became
England’s new leader. Cromwell’s government
favored the Puritans. Several
new Puritan groups, including the
Quakers, first appeared during this time.
Cromwell died in 1658, and a new king
took power in 1660. Puritans were once
again mistreated. This period was called
the Great Persecution. Finally, in 1689
the Act of Toleration gave Puritans the
freedom to practice religion as they
thought it should be practiced.
..More to explore
Massachusetts Bay Colony • Plymouth
Colony • Protestantism • Quaker
Pyongyang
Population
(2005
estimate), urban
area,
3,351,000
Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea,
a country in East Asia. The city lies on
the Taedong River. It is North Korea’s
largest city. It is also a center of education
and culture.
Pyongyang is a major center of industry.
Factories in the city make fabric and
clothes, food products, machines,
chemicals, and other goods.
An artwork from the 1500s shows a Puritan
family. The Puritans lived simply, with little
decoration in their clothing or homes.
The Pilgrims
moved to Holland
(now part
of The Netherlands)
before
deciding to
move to North
America.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Pyongyang 169
According to legend, Pyongyang was
founded in 1122 BC. It is said to have
been built on the site of an even older
capital.
The first historical records of Pyongyang
are from 108 BC. It became the capital of
the Koguryo kingdom of northern
Korea in AD 427.
Pyongyang suffered several invasions
over the years. In the 1890s it was damaged
during a war between China and
Japan. The Japanese controlled the city
from 1910 to 1945.
In 1948 Korea was divided into two
countries, North Korea and South
Korea. Pyongyang became the capital of
North Korea.
#More to explore
Korea, North • KoreanWar
Pyramid
A pyramid is a large structure with four
sides that usually slope upward and meet
at a point. The base of a pyramid is a
rectangle, and the sides are usually triangles.
People throughout the world
have built pyramids at different times.
The most famous pyramids were built in
ancient Egypt more than 4,500 years
ago. The pyramids of Mexico, Central
America, and South America are also
well known.
Egypt
The pyramids of ancient Egypt were
tombs. Egyptian kings had themselves
buried with gold and other treasure.
They had pyramids built partly to keep
out people who would steal the treasure.
However, robbers broke into most, if
not all, of the Egyptian pyramids in
ancient times. About 80 pyramids have
been found in Egypt, but some are now
only rubble.
The Egyptians developed pyramids from
