In Christianity, there is a clear separation between faith and culture. Jews, too, have lived in many lands and many cultures. But we have also carried with us our own religious culture connecting us to Jews in other times and places. The story that we read from the Megillah, the special scroll for Purim, is about one clever queen, Esther, saving her people from the plot of one evil persecutor, Haman, and one stupid king, Ahasuerus, in one ancient kingdom, Persia. The rabbis said that after the Messiah comes, Purim is the one holiday Jews will still celebrate.
All Jewish holidays celebrate some aspect of the human experience.
Passover, in the spring, celebrates the hope and joy of freedom. Tisha B'Av, in the dead heat of summer, commemorates the destruction of the Temple, the dashing of hope, the loss of freedom, and the accompanying cruelty, horror and despair. Sukkot in the fall celebrates our connection to the earth, to fertility, to simple physical happiness. It celebrates Sinai, the capacity for revelation, commitment to a higher ideal, sacred covenant. Taken together, the cycle of Jewish holidays comprises a history and celebration of the full range of the human spirit.