CEREMONY is conventionally defined as a highly formalized observance or practice prescribed by custom and undertaken by a collective, or as customary observances and practices considered as a whole. In contrast to conventional usage, in which the term...

SEASONAL CEREMONIES. In all parts of the world and in all ages, it has been the custom to mark the beginning of a year, season, or agricultural cycle by a series of public ceremonies. These were designed originally to dramatize the conclusion of one...

Large-scale, spectacular theatrical production or procession. In the Middle Ages, a pageant was the wagon on which religious plays such as mystery plays were performed. Because the plays were associated with ceremony and spectacle, the term came to...

Nothing is more ridiculous than mere ceremony. (French) To stand on ceremony makes one hungry....

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