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As a little kid, I was always told that a Hamantasch is representative of Haman's three cornered hat. Is there an actual source that says Haman wore a three cornered hat or is it just Folklore?

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I was told the following by a Rebbe of mine (My Yiddish is sorely lacking, so can't verify it to be true, but why would he make this up?):

In Europe, they made "hamantaschen" out of poppy, which in Yiddish is Mon. A pocket in Yiddish is a Tasch. Mon-Tasch, or plural Mon-taschen, (poppy pockets) were a popular purim snack. The similarity of Mon to Haman caused people to start calling it that, and afterwards the "explanation" came along.

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    The problem I have with this explanation is where does the hat come in? How do you get from poppy pockets to Haman's hat?
    – Bochur613
    Feb 27, 2014 at 0:12
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    @Bochur613: It sounds like the pastry was known as "montaschen" and enjoyed all year round. At some point, perhaps as a Purim joke, it got the name "hamantashcen". Later on, the original name was forgotten.
    – Ephraim
    Feb 27, 2014 at 16:18
  • Perhaps it's a corruption of Mohn-Törtchen? (Search for it online. Also see Mohn-Tartelettes)
    – Ephraim
    Feb 27, 2014 at 16:24
  • @Bochur613 Because pockets aren't 3 cornered, and hats can be. Folklore often develops this way - when you are trying to fit the explanation to the facts.
    – Y     e     z
    Feb 27, 2014 at 19:33
  • @Ephraim As I said, I do not claim to know the Yiddish enough to comment.
    – Y     e     z
    Feb 27, 2014 at 19:34

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