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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ce ...
