Many 30- and 40-something Israelis share a common memory: Leading up to Purim, during which children and adults don costumes, families would hold intense and creative discussions, sometimes under a cloak of secrecy, in which wild ideas would be thrown about to come up with unique costumes for the holiday. Afterward, the costumes would be prepared by hand, usually a labor of love by parents who would sit up all night putting together costumes for their kids and even for themselves.
The creative custom, which appears to be dying out, was replaced by the easier, simpler and lazier (but not necessarily cheaper) custom of buying ready-made costumes. Most are imported from sewing workshops in developing nations, made of cheap materials and, if truth be told, rather ugly.
