Some businesses celebrate Christmas in July, but Michigan State Rep. Robert Gosselin (R-Troy) was thinking about Hanukkah in June. Gosselin introduced two House resolutions in late June that seek to put a Hanukkah menorah on the state Capitol property and call the 2006 Winter Holiday Tree display the "Christmas Tree and Hanukkah Menorah Holidays Display."

After talking with other representatives, Gosselin said there was no valid reason why the state's Christmas tree should be referred to as a holiday tree as it lately has been called. Further, he said the inclusion of a menorah underscores the nation's Judeo-Christian history.

"Let's maintain those historical names and traditions at the Capitol," he said.

Although Gosselin said he didn't talk to any Jewish organizations about setting up the menorah, he said the Jewish individuals he's talked to favor it.

According to a recent study done by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, about 72,000 Jews live in the metropolitan Detroit tri-county area.

Robert Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit, said he considers a Christmas tree to be a secular symbol of the holidays rather than a religious symbol. But he stressed that any Capitol display should be sensitive to those who aren't Christian or Jewish, such as people of other faiths or of no faith.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that every holiday display has to be balanced," Cohen said. "Whatever they put on the Capitol grounds, it should be done in a group to allow all citizens of Michigan to feel comfortable with the display."

This is not the first time Gosselin has tried to install items of symbolic value in the Capitol. He said he succeeded in putting "In God We Trust" in lettering on a wall in the Capitol a few years ago.

Last month, the House also passed Gosselin's resolution to urge the Michigan Capitol Committee to display historical documents related to government or lawmaking. Such documents could include the Ten Commandments, Gosselin said.

Gosselin said he was told that the Christmas and Hanukkah resolutions would likely come to a vote in September or October. He added he is confident they will pass.

"There's a lot of people there from the Christian faith and from the Jewish faith in the Legislature," he said. "We shouldn't get into all this combativeness about it."