Yesterday the Hebrew Festival of Purim was celebrated in all the synagogues in all parts of the world. According tot he Jewish calendar the date was Adar 14, 5649. The day, which is observed as an occasion of great rejoicing, is kept in commemoration of the escape of the entire Hebrew race from the evil machinations of Haman, the prime minister of Ahasuerus, King of Persia.

The story told by the book of Esther, or Megiliah Esther, as it is called by the Hebrews, is that the king, at the instigation of Haman, who was angry because the Jew Mordecai refused to do him honor, resolved upon the massacre of all the Jews in Persia. Esther, the niece of Mordecai, lately taken to wife by Ahasuerus, at the risk of her life persuaded the king to allow the Jews to be notified of the edict gone out against them and permitted to arm themselves. As a result the Jews easily vanquished the messengers of Haman. Haman was hanged on the gallows prepared for Mordecai, and in gratitude to God Esther and Mordecai, who was advanced to Haman's post as prime minister, inaugurated the feast of Purim, or Lots.

Purim is the only occasion when charitable contributions of money are received during the services and these contributions have their origin from the days of Moses, when a shekel or half a shekel was donated for the use of the temple. At other times if any of the congregation wishes to make any offering he announces the amount to the reader of the synagogue and sends it the following day. No coin or money of any sort will be handled by a strictly orthodox Jew on the Sabbath or holy day.

Yesterday all the synagogues held service in the morning, reading the Megillah Esther, and in the afternoon or evening gave an entertainment. In the Keap0 Street Temple Beth Elohim, with one exception the most orthodox congregation in this city, services were held Saturday night and yesterday morning. In the afternoon a concert was given by the children of the Sunday school and Purim cakes were partaken of. These cakes are supposed to be in commemoration of the original feast.

In the Greene Avenue Temple Israel, the ultra reformed synagogue of the State, after the usual service Rabbi Harrison, in a short discourse, explained to an audience large enough to fill the temple what the day signified and invited every-body to come back in the afternoon and witness an entertainment in honor of the occasion. In the afternoon the comedy "Thank God, the Breakfast is Ready." was presented, followed by several vocal and instrumental selections and recitations.

In the Synagogue Beth Elohim, on State street, near Hoyt, a very interesting programme was presented. Dr. Sparger, the rabbi of the congregation, opened the proceedings with an organ recital. Two hundred children of the Sunday school took part in singing an old fashioned Purim song containing twenty-one verses, of which, as a curiosity, the first three are given here:

In ancient Shushan lived a king,
Ahasuerus by name;
He was a rich and mighty king,
And world wide was his fame.
But far above all he possessed
He loved his sweet Queen Esther best.

Queen Esther was a Jewish maid,
The niece of Mordecai,
Who bade her to conceal this fact,
And Esther did obey.
Yet, Although now a mighty queen,
She ne'er forgot who she had been.

The king once raised a servant high,
But second to his crown,
And ordered that to Haman all
Pay honor and bow down.
One only dared to disobey,
Twas noble, pious Mordecai!

Others who assisted in entertaining the guests, who filled not only every seat but every available inch of standing room, were: Professor Eisner, organ recital; violin solo, Master M. Arensburg; accompanist, Miss E. Corn; recitation, Miss C. Newman: "Peculiar Pleasantries with Peculiar People, "Ventriloquist Frank Woods; violin solo, Master A. Levy; accompanist, M.C. Wechsher; duet, Miss Rosenberg and Master simon Bloch; mandolin solo, M.M. Corn; Punch and Judy, Mr. Frank Woods, Mrs. Jarley's wax works concluded a very enjoyable programme. The officers and instructors of the Sunday school deserve great credit for the praiseworthy efforts made by their pupils. They are: Superintendent, Mr. Jacob Brenner; lecturer, Rev. William Sparger; teachers, Dr. Cardozo, Mr. J. Wechsler, Miss M. Altlicimer, Mis C. Wechsler, Miss B. Lazansky, Mr. H. Brandenstein, Miss E. Heineman, Miss H. Goldsmith, Miss M. Steinhart, Miss B. Arensberg and Miss A. Cohn; substitutes, Miss C. Shellenberg, Miss S. Bloch, Miss L. Steinhart and Miss E. Hauser: committee, Mr. Abram Wechsler, Mr. Isaac Tram and Mr. A. Newman.

Rabbi M. Friedlander's synagogue Baith Ysroile, on the corner of State street and Boerum place, is in the hands of the builder and decorator, and no services were held there. Next Sunday, if the builder fulfills his contract, the reconsecration and dedication exercises will take place. The services will be in Hebrew, but the discourses, to be delivered by several of the leading rabbis from New York congregations, will be in English.

The Feast of Purim was celebrated yesterday by the Hebrews of the Seventeenth Ward in the Temple Beth-el, on Noble street. There were services morning and afternoon, which were largely attended. At the afternoon service ex-Coroner Morris Ellinger, of New York, officiated and delivered an eloquent address. His subject was: "Why Am I a Jew?" Mr. Ellinger kept his listeners intensely interested for one hour, the time he occupied.