²¹ Mordecai told them to celebrate the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar. He wanted them to do it every year. ²² Mordecai told the Jews to celebrate the time when they got rest from their enemies. That was the month when their sadness was turned into joy. It was when their weeping turned into a day for celebrating. He wrote the letters to celebrate those days as times of joy. He wanted the people to enjoy good food. He told them to give presents of food to one another. He also wanted them to give gifts to people who were poor.

²³ So the Jews agreed to continue the celebrating they had started. They kept doing what Mordecai had written to them.