Weighing in on St. Patrick's Day

So there's been some buzz on the Jewish blogosphere about St. Patrick's Day and other holidays of Christian origin pervasive in American culture. The other holidays that have been mentioned most are Valentine's Day and Halloween. The sense of the comments is that Jews should not celebrate these holidays because even if they are part of secular culture, they have Christian origin, so wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, for example, or drinking on St. Patrick's Day (when it's not ta'anit ester) is worship of saints and therefore idols.

But, for example, Christmas is a US federal holiday. Does that mean Jews who get Christmas off should break into work anyway because Christmas is of Christian origin? Many people get Sundays off for a similar reason.

However, consistency is not the only aspect these arguments lack. I'm not saying people should celebrate St. Patrick's Day if they feel uncomfortable doing so. But insinuating or calling for a collective ban on celebration of such days assumes a cultural similarity of all Jews. There are Irish Jews, and though St. Patrick's Day is for some a holy day of obligation, that does not negate the influence that Patrick had on Irish history. If Christians are not paying proper respect to their holy days, that is their own issue to resolve. It doesn't mean that I can no longer walk across the St. Joseph River or support the work of St. Jude's Children's Hospital. It also doesn't mean that I cannot find inspiration in the lives of those that Christians (or others) call saints.