With 165 days til Christmas, Fort Collins has already decided on its holiday display: Christmas trees but no Hannukah menorah.

"I'm as inclusive as the next guy, but instead of knocking yourself out with being inclusive, we're just going to have a Christmas tree," Councilman Kurt Kastein said Wednesday.

The issue arose last year after a Jewish group, the Chabad of Northern Colorado, asked that a menorah be included in the display of Christmas trees and wreaths.

When the issue came up last year, the City Council agreed to allow the menorah on city grounds briefly each night during Hanukkah.

At Tuesday's work session, the council reviewed about 170 written comments on holiday displays and decided to keep it simple and secular.

"The Christmas trees aren't a problem because they were originally pagan," said Councilman Ben Manvel. "If we allowed the menorah and a creche, then we'd end up with a parade of other religious symbols."

But Larry Cohen, president of the Chabad wanting to display the menorah, disagrees.

"It's not like the 4th of July, but the menorah celebrates religious freedom," Cohen said.

On eight consecutive nights during December, Jews light a candle to commemorate victory over a ruler who put a Greek idol in their temple, he said.

After a long war, the Jews rebuilt their temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C., but they had only enough oil to fuel the temple's eternal flame for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, Cohen said.

"The menorah represents that a small force can win. It's the can-do spirit," said Cohen. "Hannukah is a universal message of freedom of religion for all."

Besides the request for a menorah, the city had received only the request for a nativity scene, said Mayor Doug Hutchinson.

But council members feared requests for angels, pagan displays, reindeer and assorted religious symbols, Hutchinson said.

"If we don't include all symbols, we can't just pick and choose what we think belongs there," said Councilman David Roy.

"We just didn't want to get into the picking and choosing business," said Manvel.

The issue of religious symbols on government property, especially Christmas displays, has been in and out of the courts for decades. A 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found that both menorahs and Christmas trees are secular symbols, exempt from rules requiring the separation of church and state.

But a 2001 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, favored by attorneys for Fort Collins, said local governments have some discretion.

"Fort Collins has a perfect right to not allow a menorah or a creche," said Robert Tiernan, an attorney specializing in First Amendment issues.