A typical bagel brunch turned into a holiday celebration at the Hillel House this Sunday, March 16.
Students of many different religious denominations gathered at the cultural event to celebrate the Jewish holiday, Purim.
"Purim is like the Jewish Halloween or Mardi-Gras. It's a celebration of the Jews surviving against all odds," said Nancy Luberoff, Hillel Director.
At the front entrance of the Hillel House, students were given Purim-themed costume pieces to wear and were offered a variety of bagels with cream cheese and fruits for free. Traditional Hamantaschen cookies were sold for $1 in order to raise money for the Hillel Relay for Life team.
"We raised $100 dollars today," Luberoff said.
Members of Hillel also celebrated Purim with a traditional reenactment.
On the day of Purim, people who identify with the Judaism religion will organize a small comedic reenactment of an historical event relevant to the holiday. The reenactment is called a "Spiel".
"That was probably the best Spiel I have seen," said Ben Lutz, a member of Hillel.
Nancy Luberoff said how happy it made her to see people there who were not Jewish but wanted to experience the holiday and become more educated on the religion.