ceremony, n.Definitions

Ceremony is the wine of human experience.

Ceremony is all backbone.

Ceremony is used to announce intentions, to express loyalty and to reinforce a sense of identity.

Ceremony is the invention of wise men to keep fools at a distance.

A Ceremony is a technical procedure for teaching indemonstrable truths. Ritual and pomp overcome man’s blindness before what is not material and coarse.

Ceremony is the human way we have to signpost a deal such as a business merger, to trigger off a healthy grief process (such as in divorce or funeral ceremonies), to welcome another human being into the family. So Ceremonies have these excellent effects - they can be used further to announce intentions, to express loyalty and to reinforce a sense of identity.

Ceremony is a necessary outwork of manners as well as of religion... it keeps the petulant at a proper distance on the one hand and on the other it is a very small restraint to the sensible and well-bred part of the world.

Ceremony is responsible for assisting people to adjust to change (a marriage ceremony does this for families), to recognizing achievement (a classic example is a graduation ceremony), to relating, to expressing love, and/or to establishing a relationship.