Did You Know?

...Haman was hanged on the second day of Passover? (Purim is the anniversary of the Jews' victory celebration after their war against their enemies 11 month later)

...Queen Esther's Hebrew name was Hadasaah? ("Esther" is Persian)

...Mordechai was the first person in history to be called a "Jew"? (Before then, Jews were called "Hebrews" or "Israelites")

...Achashverosh searched four years for a queen, during which he considered more than 1400 contestants, before choosing Esther?

...Vashti (Achashverosh's first queen) was the great-granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian emperor who destroyed the first Holy Temple?

...Haman was the one who advised Achashverosh to kill Vashti?

...There is an opinion in the Talmud that Esther was not beautiful at all, and had a greenish complexion?

...Haman was once Mordechai's slave?

...Mordechai, who refused to bow to Haman, was a descendant of Benjamin, the only one of Jacob's sons who didn't bow to Haman's ancestor Esau?

...Esther's plan was to make Achashverosh jealous of the attention she was giving to Haman so that he should kill them both?

...Haman's decree was never revoked? (Achashverosh only issued a second decree, giving the Jews the right to defend themselves)

...Mordechai was a very old man during the story of Purim? (He was already a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest court of Torah law in Jerusalem, 79 years before the miracle of Purim!)

...Every single Jew in the world lived in Achashverosh's kingdom, so that they were all included in Haman's decree?

...G-d's name is not mentioned even once in the entire Book of Esther?

For more read The Complete Story of Purim.