Cohousing-L Mailing List: Religious symbols and policies

[Karen Carlson (kcarlson2]

Sometimes I feel when everything is beaten into a policy the very act of doing 
so causes us to draw harder lines. The first time a Christmas tree was put up 
in our small dining room, there was some discussion via email and then it all 
died down. (One person who is a non-religious Jew objected to the "Holiday" 
attempt--"It's Christmas!" she said. "Why make it otherwise?") To my knowledge, 
there are no lingering hard feelings.  For those in our community who observe 
Jewish holidays in our common spaces, there's never been a peep of concern, as 
far as I know.  

This year there were two Sukkah* outside (temporary structures as part of 
Sukkot, a special Jewish harvest celebration). Everyone was invited to eat or 
even sleep in the larger one. One celebration was private.  No problem as far 
as I know. The lingering problem is that sometimes events and meetings are 
planned without sufficient care to avoid major Jewish observances.  We then 
have to make a quick adjustment.

*have no idea what the plural is

Karen Carlson
Arboretum Cohousing Community (aka Arbco)
Madison, Wi