The festival of Purim was celebrated countrywide two weeks ago, but at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, it’s taking place this Sunday, just in time for the start of the spring semester.

Raucous partying and crazy costumes at BGU’s Purim (Courtesy BGU)

“We’ve been doing it this way for many years,” said Nati Hasson, head of the student association. “The idea is to have it on Purim itself, but it often gets pushed off because of exams, and this year the whole schedule got changed because of Operation Pillar of Defense [when the university closed during the hail of rockets from Gaza].”

BGU’s campus festival for a delayed Purim celebration (Courtesy BGU)

The two-hour fest includes a raucous costume contest, fair, cheap drinks, makeup booths and a crafts fair, all the necessary elements of any Purim revelry, said Hasson, and all classes are canceled for the two-hour stretch, enabling all of BGU’s 20,000 students and faculty to make it to the campus-wide party.

“Our students are very serious about their costume competition and were not going to let the change of semester starting dates keep them from partying this year,” remarked Faye Bittker, director of the department of publications and media relations. “It’s all about studying hard but keeping your sense of humor. Let’s face it – not by chance do we keep getting chosen the No. 1 university by the national student association. We have a real campus school which is different from the usual Israel student experience.”

The university is considered the most important institution in the southern city, with one of Israel’s most active student campuses.

Party on.