A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.

Church and civil (secular) ceremonies

According to Dally Messenger and Alain de Botton, in most Western countries the values and ideals articulated in both church and civil ceremonies are generally similar. The difference is in what Messenger calls the "supernatural infrastructure" or de Botton the "implausible supernatural element".Messenger, Dally; ''Murphy's Law and the Pursuit of Happiness: a History of the Civil Celebrant Movement'', Spectrum Publications, Melbourne (Australia), 2012 Most churches and religions claim some extra advantage conferred by the deity e.g. Roman Catholics believe that through the words of

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in the mass ceremony, God himself becomes actually present on the altar. Both church and civil ceremonies share the powerful psychological, social and cultural influences which all ceremony seeks to attain. Obviously, the style of music played, words used, other components and the structure vary.

Shared traditions

Leaders welcoming boy into Mexico Scouting

As Edward Schillebeeckx writes about the

marriage ceremony A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

, there are a surprising number of ancient traditional elements in both church and civil ceremonies in the western world. Key ceremonies date from the pre-Christian Roman and Greek times and their practices have continued through the centuries. For example, from pre-Christian Roman times in the marriage ceremony, we inherit

best men ''Best Men'' is a 1997 American crime comedy film directed by Tamra Davis, and stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Luke Wilson, Andy Dick, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Ward, Drew Barrymore and Dean Cain. Plot Four groomsmen are preparing for a wedding, don ...

and

bridesmaids Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...

, processions, signing of the contract, exchange of rings and even the wedding cake.

Sharing non-supernatural content

Writer and philosopher Alain De Botton maintains atheists should appropriate many of the useful insights, artistic treasures and symbolism inspired by religion. He argues that the secular world can also learn from the religions the importance of community and continuity. Messenger agrees, and points out that the success of civil celebrants in Australia has been partly due to their espousing of these principles, both in theory and practice, since 1973.Messenger III, Dally (1999), ''Ceremonies and Celebrations'', Hachette -Livre Australia (Sydney),

History of secular ceremony

The main impetus to the development of quality civil ceremonies in the Western world was the foresight of the Australian statesman, Senator and High Court Judge, Lionel Murphy. In 1973 in Australia the

civil celebrant In Australia, celebrants are people who conduct formal ceremonies in the community, particularly weddings, which are the main ceremony of legal import conducted by celebrants and for this reason often referred to as marriage celebrants. They ma ...

program entrusted appropriately selected individuals to provide non-church people with ceremonies of substance and dignity. This initiative to a great extent has now been followed by New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and some states of the US.

Purpose of secular ceremony

According to Dally Messenger III secular ceremonies are “roadmap” influences which lead to an acceptable, ethical and dignified life. Ceremonies contribute to the unseen ingredients of psychological stability, a sense of identity, reassurances of life's purposes, and the personal sense of self worth. The mysterious cultural power of quality ceremonies lead our society along an honourable and ethical path. Lionel Murphy considered that personal genuine ceremonies were central to a civilised, stable and happy society. Here he echoed the conviction of the renowned mythologist

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

who had maintained the strongly asserted generality that the level of civilised behaviour in a society is directly linked to the practice of ceremonies and rites of passage.

Serious communication

Ceremonies are the time and place setting wherein people communicate seriously. For example, in front of witnesses the groom tells the bride that he loves her and wants to be with her for the rest of his life. Such a statement has much more force than if said privately. It is in the ceremony that groups of people come together. It is in the ceremony that they make compacts, recognise achievement, assert identity, establish connections, declare love, pay tribute, express grief. In addition Messenger makes the following observations: * A complex of good ceremonies raise the level of human happiness in society. * Ceremonies assist humans to adjust to change. * Ceremonies are signposts of the culture and indicate that such a culture has life-affirming substance. * Ceremonies are an important means of expressing, reinforcing and transmitting values. * Ceremonies are constructed from the visual and performing arts. In a chosen setting they are an important vehicle for telling stories, reciting great poetry and prose, using symbolism, and performing great music. * Ceremonies, done well, leave lifelong lasting memories and therefore permanent good effects. * The better a ceremony is done, the better its psychological, cultural, and social outcomes.

The components of ceremony

To be powerful and effective, such ceremonies, in the view of all the scholars in the field, had to have impact. This occurred when the ceremony was framed by the visual and performing arts. Great care had to be taken in creating and choosing the poetry, prose, stories, personal journeys, myths, silences, dance, music and song, shared meditations, choreography and symbolism which comprised a ceremony. To reinforce the psychological and cultural power of ceremony it should be enacted, as far as possible, in a beautiful interior and exterior place. Beauty is the essential core of ceremony, having always been part of “raising the spirit” and embedding the good in the memory. Ceremonies, as they always had been, are historically the bridge between the visual and performing arts and the people. Murphy and his followers, and international practitioners such as David Oldfield of Washington DC understand that ceremonies are core expressions of the culture. Done well, they can assist in major

decision-making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...

, bring

emotional security Emotional security is the measure of the stability of an individual's emotional state. Emotional insecurity or simply insecurity is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving of oneself to be vulnerable or in ...

, strengthen bonds between people, and communicate a sense of

contentment Contentment is an emotional state of satisfaction that can be seen as a mental state drawn from being at ease in one's situation, body and mind. Colloquially speaking, contentment could be a state of having accepted one's situation and is a m ...

. To quote David Oldfield Memorial of Fallen Soldiers from the Yom Kippur War - Flickr - Israel Defense Forces

''Rituals and ceremonies are an essential and basic means'' ''for human beings to give themselves and others'' ''the necessary messages'' ''which enable the individual to stay human.'' ''They communicate acceptance,'' ''love, a sense of identity, esteem,'' ''shared values and beliefs'' ''and shared memorable events.'' ''Every ritual contains tender and sacred moments.'' ''And in those moments of sensitivity'' ''We are taken out of the normal flow of life,'' ''And out of our routines.'' ''We are then in an event'' ''that is irreplaceable and sacred''. ''In ritual we participate in'' ''something deep and significant.'' ''They are moments which move our heart'' ''And touch our spirit.''

Qualities of a celebrant

Lionel Murphy also knew that the superficial, the unaware, were not the right persons to bring this about. The

needs to have a rich skill-set and knowledge base. Murphy is on the record as asserting that the civil celebrant needed to have a “feel” for ceremony and be professional, knowledgeable, educated, creative, imaginative, inspired, well presented, idealistic, and well practised. The civil celebrant should be a person inspired to improve lives at a deep and lasting level. For this reason they must be carefully chosen. The ideal is that they be educated in the humanities and trained to expertly co-create, creatively write and perform ceremonies.

Ceremonial occasions

* Marriage, or a wedding, is the flagship ceremony of every culture. * Almost as important is the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

burial ceremony A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. ''

The funeral ritual, too, is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved. Rich in history and rife with symbolism, the funeral ceremony helps us acknowledge the reality of the death, gives testimony to the life of the deceased, encourages the expression of grief in a way consistent with the culture’s values, provides support to mourners, allows for the embracing of faith and beliefs about life and death, and offers continuity and hope for the living.

'' * Birth, i.e. a naming ceremony ''

Naming Ceremonies existed in human culture long before Christianity or any of the major religions came on the scene. Every community has a ceremony to welcome a new child into the world, to give that child recognition, and to celebrate the birth of new life.

'' * Baptism or christening ceremony *

Initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

(college orientation week) * Puberty * Social adulthood ( Bar (or Bat) Mitzvah),

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

ceremonies *

Graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

Award ceremonies An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

* Retirement * Death ( Day of the Dead) * * Spiritual ( baptism, communion) * Grand opening *

Aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

Celebration of events

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 In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

day *

Inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

of an elected office-holder * Occasions in a

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...

or "feasts" in a calendar of saints * Opening and closing of a sports event, such as the Olympic Games 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 social role, for example the tea ceremony.

Process

Ceremonies may have a physical display or theatrical component:

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, 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 Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Anthropology Social gatherings