Part of the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard in Whitehall, London.

A ceremony is an event, infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion.

[edit] Celebration of life

A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human career, marking the significance of (for example):

• birth
• initiation
• puberty
• social adulthood
• graduation
• marriage
• retirement
• death
• burial
• spiritual

[edit] Government ceremonies

Sometimes, a ceremony may only be performed by a person with certain authority. For example, the opening of the United Kingdom Parliament is presided over by the Sovereign (Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). The naming and launching of a warship 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. The President of the United States is customarily sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States, and the British sovereign is always crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[edit] Celebration of events

Other, society-wide ceremonies may mark annual or seasonal or recurrent events like:

• vernal equinox, winter solstice and other annual astronomical positions
• weekly Sabbath day
• inauguration of an elected office-holder
• occasions in a liturgical year or "feasts" in a calendar of saints

Other ceremonies underscore the importance of non-regular special occasions, such as:

• coronation of a monarch
• victory in battle

In some Asian cultures, ceremonies also play an important role, for example the tea ceremony.

[edit] Process

Ceremonies may have a physical display or theatrical component: dance, a procession, the laying on of hands. A declaratory verbal pronouncement may explain or cap the occasion, for instance:

• I now pronounce you man and wife.
• I swear to serve and defend the nation ...
• I declare open the games of ...
• I/We dedicate this ... ... to ...

Both physical and verbal components of a ceremony may become part of a liturgy.

[edit] See also

• Rite of passage
• Gift
• Human condition
• Tjurunga
• Event planning