See How Purim Is Celebrated in the Holy Land

JERUSALEM -- Israeli police have cleared the site of the suspected terrorist attack this morning at a light rail station in east Jerusalem -- and revelers celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim are out in force by this afternoon.

Secular teenagers donned wigs and threw fraternity-style street parties, setting off fireworks into the air.

Waiters at restaurants sported masks and religious children dressed up as Cinderella or Superman. Roaming the streets of Jerusalem, an unscientific survey found that princesses, of all kinds, were the clear favorites with the under-five set.

To briefly review the Purim tradition, according to the Biblical Book of Esther, Haman, a royal vizier to King Ahasuerus, hatched a plot to kill all of the Jews in the ancient Persian Empire some 2,500 years ago.

The plot was foiled, and Purim is the Jewish celebration on the other side. But today, the day of deliverance, feasting and heavy drinking, has turned into an epic carnival-like party for much of the Jewish world. In Jerusalem, the party lasts for an extra day.

At a celebration in central Jerusalem today, the atmosphere struck the balance between an American kindergarten Halloween parade and Cirque Du Soleil.

Trend-spotting, wigs were everywhere.

Note the toddler in the polka dotted dress looks a bit frighted.

There was also a lot of skin on display in Jerusalem; a city that rarely displays much skin.

Yesterday, much of the country celebrated Purim. Here at Adloyada, masked children participate in Israel's biggest Purim parade in the city of Holon.

And in Tel Aviv, Orthodox Jewish children are pictured in Bnei Brak.