A ceremony (UK: , US: ) is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin caerimonia.


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

birth
initiation (college orientation week)
puberty
social adulthood (Bar (or Bat) Mitzvah)
graduation
union (marriage)
awarding
retirement
death (Day of the Dead)
burial (funeral)
spiritual (baptism, communion)
Grand opening


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

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
Opening and closing of a sports event, such as the Olympic GamesOther ceremonies underscore the importance of non-regular special occasions, such as:

coronation of a monarch
victory in battleIn some Asian cultures, ceremonies also play an important social role, for example the tea ceremony.



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 husband 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.