Ironic, Ain't it?

Still wonderin' puts a finer point on it:

You're saying that one of the central customs of Purim -- a holiday centered around the Jews' rebound from punishment for participating in a non-Jewish festival -- is an adaptation of one of the central customs of a non-Jewish celebration.

To which I answered:

This is not cynicism. You're using the word incorrectly.

Here is a simple presentation of the facts. You can draw your own conclusions, but be reasonable:

Fact 1 - No record of Jews wearing costumes before 14th century
Fact 2 - non Jews wore costumes for their own event AT THE SAME TIME OF YEAR long before the 14th century
Fact 3 - The first account of Jews wearing costumes occurs in a place where the Christians were known to do it.
Fact 4 - The costume wearing custom DOES NOT EXIST in non-European communities. Persian Jews, for instance, don't wear costumes.

Those are the facts of history. Do with them as you wish, but try to be honest.

Frankly, I am surprised this very ordinary idea (Jews, like everyone else, borrowed from the surrounding cultures) has met with such hostility.

Prediction: Still wonderin' is going to hate tonight's post.