WATCH a video from the celebration.

VIEW photos from the event.

The Kent State Jewish Center, Hillel, celebrated the Jewish holiday, Purim on Thursday night.

Jewish student Becca Carter attended the party and said, “Purim is a holiday that came about when Jews were in exile and there was a king and he had a second in command who hated all the Jews and wanted to find a way to kill them.”

Rebecca Meiser says Purim is a time to rejoice rather than a time of sorrow.

“It’s a time to celebrate, to let loose,” she said. “It’s a good time for Hillel to do that and to show that side of Judaism as well.”

The Jewish community prepares special pastries resembling the enemy Hamen who wanted to kill the Jewish people.

Carter said, “We fill them up with chocolate and jam and we eat them because we’re eating the evil out of the world.”

Purim is important to the Jewish community as a whole, but it also means a lot to them as individuals.

Purim is meaningful to student Joel Abramson because it was an important part in Jewish history.

He said, “Big ‘moments’ in history, when we have Jews sticking up for themselves. It’s just really great because they fought against them and won.”

William Robinson likes Purim because it brings together the Jewish community.

“It’s a time for us to gather. I guess it’s especially different because it’s commanded for us to get rowdy,” Robinson said.

The Purim celebration may not be like any other Jewish holiday but it is a special day for the Jewish Community.

Carter said, “We tried to be destroyed, we prevailed. Let’s eat. Let’s celebrate.”