They are totally not canon, they are a thing I 100% made up -- partly because of the Jewish stuff that Nimoy took for his portrayal of Spock, and partly just because it made me happy. I don't know what the explanation is for them either (a mystery! or a miracle!) but I have decided they do exist now and nobody can tell me otherwise.
As far as Otara and Purim being similar though, in my head that's just coincidence -- they're not actually all that similar in my head, Saintly Women Winning Over Secular Worldly Leaders is a theme across a couple religions I think, so I didn't think it was that much of a stretch to give Bajor a holiday based on a similar-enough story to get them talking. But if Bashir had done more listening and less mansplaining (sorry Bashir) he probably would have heard about lots more differences!
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They are totally not canon, they are a thing I 100% made up -- partly because of the Jewish stuff that Nimoy took for his portrayal of Spock, and partly just because it made me happy. I don't know what the explanation is for them either (a mystery! or a miracle!) but I have decided they do exist now and nobody can tell me otherwise.
As far as Otara and Purim being similar though, in my head that's just coincidence -- they're not actually all that similar in my head, Saintly Women Winning Over Secular Worldly Leaders is a theme across a couple religions I think, so I didn't think it was that much of a stretch to give Bajor a holiday based on a similar-enough story to get them talking. But if Bashir had done more listening and less mansplaining (sorry Bashir) he probably would have heard about lots more differences!