Cohousing-L Mailing List: Evolving a Unique Community Culture

[Michael Mariner (maikano]

This is mostly a question for folks who have been living in their 
communities for awhile, but could apply to forming communities as well:

Does your group work at building a culture -- consciously or 
unconsciously?  If so, in what ways?  What occasions or events do you 
celebrate together? Religious holidays?  National holidays?  Solstices?  
Full Moons?  New Moons?  People's birthdays?  Have you invented words (or 
new meanings of old words)  that the group uses?  How about habits, 
customs and conventions -- at meals, at meetings?

Social scientists would say that any group evolves an identity and a 
culture over time.  I'm just wondering what other cohousers are doing and 
how much time it takes to build a cohesive, recognizable culture in a 
cohousing context.

Michael