It’s a time of year characterized by children in costumes, celebratory feasts, exchanges of gifts and the doling out of charity, a holiday that Jewish communities the world over look forward to as a day when the threat of annihilation disappeared.

Beginning this year on Saturday night, Feb. 27, the holiday of Purim recalls the events of the biblical Scroll of Esther and the victory of the Persian Jews against an evil decree promulgated by King Achashverosh’s advisor Haman. As in years past, many have spent weeks preparing for the celebration.

On Feb. 14, some 60 local children and their parents came together to create costumes at Chabad-Lubavitch of Chesterfield, Mo. Organized by Chabad House co-director Chana’la Rubenfeld, the workshop focused on the Purim custom of dressing in costume as an allusion to the Divine hand of the biblical story appearing as a natural sequence of events. Children chose from a variety of fabrics, buttons, headgear and accessories to create their outfits, after which they listened to the story of Purim and displayed their creations.

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“It was amazing,” exclaimed Jamie Bricker, whose three-year-old son made a bumblebee costume and five-year-old daughter opted for that of a princess. “It was a great opportunity for my children to get more involved with the Jewish community here, and it was a good experience for my first time participating in this kind of event. They will wear the costumes to the Purim carnival on Sunday.”

Alla Gipkhin, who also attended the event, likewise raved about the costumes.

“It was a great way to get kids and adults together. My son had a great time,” said Gipkin. “Purim is such a good holiday. It’s cheerful and the kids really enjoy it.”

To bolster the cheer, Chabad of Brandon in Valrico, Fla., is hosting “Cirque de Purim” with Fritz, a one-man circus. There’ll be fresh popcorn, face painting, carnival activities in a tent outside, and as with Purim events all over the world, the customary reading of the Scroll of Esther, known in Hebrew as the megillah.

(Besides reading the megillah at night and during the day, other Purim observances include enjoying a festive meal, distributing charity to the poor and giving gifts of food to friends and neighbors. For a worldwide directory of events and more about the holiday, click here.)

“People come together for the megillah reading and a sense of community,” said Debra Gladstone, noting that the Valrico event is typically the Chabad House’s most-attended of the year. “There’s always something for everyone, and it turns out to be a multi-generational event. It’s a really special time for us to come together as a community.”

For those who can’t make it to a previously scheduled megillah reading, teams of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, rabbinical students and volunteers will be visiting Jewish community centers, retirement homes, hospitals and neighborhoods around the globe. In Detroit, the local Lubavitch Federation of Michigan has even opened a hotline where people can call throughout the day to request a personal reading.

“That’s what Purim is all about, to celebrate with those who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity,” said Koppel Chaiton, a South African student at a Detroit area yeshiva and one of the hotline’s initiators.

In New York, students from New York University, Hunter College, Yeshiva University and Stern College will fan out across the city to deliver 100 holiday baskets to Holocaust survivors as part of the iVolunteer program run by Chabad of the Upper East Side.

Down in Houston, Rabbi Moishe Traxler of Chabad Outreach in Houston, Texas, is coordinating megillah readings in four local prisons, as well as a carnival and reading for local residents of state-supported facilities for people with special needs.

“This will be our 10th year bringing services to the residents of these schools,” said Ileene Robinson, a Houston resident who helped to create the program. “Purim is one of our most joyous and fun holidays here. The residents attend the events with their caregivers, and they are treated to handmade dolls, cookies, noisemakers and games.”