How much of it did you understand about the inauguration of Obama?

Answer 1

I am not sure what you mean by understanding the inauguration. If you are new to politics, this ceremony probably looks very formal and is carried out in a very specific way. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administers the oath to the new president (a custom that goes back to 1797). But if you are asking why was Mr. Obama was inaugurated, the answer is that he was elected president by popular vote in November 2008. For several hundred years, after a president is elected, there is a formal ceremony (an inauguration), which is where the new president takes the oath of office. The first president to be inaugurated, of course, was George Washington, in April 1789.

Some of the traditions around the inauguration ceremony have been developed over time. For example, the president-elect and vice-president elect, along with their wives, are escorted to the White House by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Then, in a tradition begun in 1837 with Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson, the president and president-elect ride together to the swearing-in ceremony (back then, they rode in a horse-drawn vehicle; today, it's an automobile). I enclose a link to an interesting site that discussed the traditions of inauguration day.