 | Ceremony: Encyclopedia - Ceremony
Ceremony
A ceremony is an activity, infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion.
Ceremony - Celebration of life
Traditionally, a ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a personal human career, marking the significance of (for example):
- birth
- initiation
- puberty
- social adulthood
- graduation
- marriage
- death
- burial
In certain circumstrances a ceremony may only be performed by a person with certain authorities. For example, the opening of Parliament is controlled by the Speaker of the House. Tha naming and launching of a war ship will be under the supervision of its Captain or a higher ranked naval officer. A wedding will be performed by a priest or a Civil Celebrant, as in Australia.
rite of passage, gift, human condition, initiation rite, Tjurunga
Ceremony - Celebration of events
Other, society-wide ceremonies may mark annual or seasonal or recurrent events like:
- vernal equinox
- winter solstice
- weekly Sabbath day
- inauguration of an elected office-holder
- occasions in a liturgical year or "feasts" in a calendar of saints
Yet other ceremonies underscore the importance of irregular special occasions, such as:
- coronation of a monarch
- victory in battle
In Asian cultures, ceremonies also play an important role. In particular, the tea ceremony of several East Asian cultures is very well known.
Ceremony - Process
Often ceremonies have a physical display or theatrical component: dance, a procession, the laying on of hands. But even greater importance usually attaches to a declaratory verbal pronouncement which may explain or cap the occasion, for instance:
- I now pronounce you man and wife.
- Happy New Year!
- I swear to serve and defend the nation ...
Both physical and verbal components of a ceremony may become part of a liturgy.
See also
- rite of passage
- gift
- human condition
- initiation rite
- Tjurunga
Category: Cultural conventions
Other related archivesCultural conventions, East Asian, Sabbath, Tjurunga, adulthood, battle, birth, burial, calendar of saints, career, coronation, dance, death, equinox, gift, graduation, human condition, inauguration, initiation, initiation rite, liturgical year, liturgy, marriage, monarch, procession, puberty, rite of passage, ritual, solstice, tea ceremony, theatrical
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ceremony", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
