ceremony, ceremonial, ceremonial occasion, observance

a formal event performed on a special occasion; "a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor"

• circumstance — formal ceremony about important occasions
• funeral — a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
• wedding, wedding ceremony, nuptials — the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
• pageant, pageantry — a rich and spectacular ceremony
• dedication — a ceremony in which something (as a building) is dedicated to some goal or purpose
• opening — a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise
• commemoration, memorialization, memorialisation — a ceremony to honor the memory of someone or something
• military ceremony — a formal ceremony performed by military personnel
• initiation, induction, installation — a formal entry into a position or office
• exercise — (usually plural) a ceremony that involves processions and speeches
• fire walking — the ceremony of walking barefoot over hot stones or a bed of embers
• formality, formalities — a requirement of etiquette or custom
• Maundy — (United Kingdom) a public ceremony on Maundy Thursday when the monarch distributes Maundy money

• affair, occasion, social occasion, function, social function — a vaguely specified social event