In Brazil, they have the Carnival. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras. New York has the Thanksgiving-day parade. In Israel, even the parades have a Jewish theme, as can be seen in the annual Adloyada Purim parades held throughout the country.
Originating in Tel Aviv during the days of the Yishuv in 1912, the parade features floats and vibrant costumes, often with a Jewish historical or political spin. Think floating Ben Gurion ballons, massive falafel balls, and colorful costumes. The name Adloyada itself is the condensed version of the Aramaic phrase: “Ad Delo Yada” – “Until one no longer knows”, the rabbinical measure for how drunk one needs to get on Purim.
In the 30’s, every Adloyada parade had a specific theme, such as the tribes of Israel or the achievements of the Yishuv, which attracted spectators from all over Israel and abroad. Contests were held, and prizes awarded, for the most creative costumes, and often highlighting social issues like wage inequality or the importance of learning Hebrew.
The Adloyada tradition was extinguished during World War II, briefly reinstated in 1955, but then died out again several years later. However, in the last two decades the Adloyada parade has seen a revival, with carnivals being held in multiple cities throughout Israel.
The carnival is particularly exciting for children, who love coming out to watch the parade and often get to march in it as well. Eliana Block who made Aliyah in 2012 when she was eight years old, participated in a local Adloyada parade in her hometown of Modi’in. She says the Adeloyada “is really fun and amazing, and its cool to be in a parade that is all about Purim.” Nava Zacks, age 12, marched in the parade as part of the Moetzet HaNoar, the local municipal youth council in which she serves. “The mayor took a million pictures with us!” she relates.
Today’s parades are decidedly less political, and feature colorful floats, zany characters, acrobats and youth clubs, as Jews throughout Israel revel in the blurring of the lines between “blessed is Mordechai and cursed is Haman.”