Ceremonies vs. Rituals vs. Announcements, etc.

As a prelude to my post you might read "Ceremonies" by Rob Redmond of the 24 Fighting Chickens Blog.

Ceremony: A formal public occasion, typically one celebrating a particular event or anniversary; An act or series of acts performed according to a traditional or prescribed form; The ritual observances and procedures performed at grand and formal occasions; Formal polite behavior, etc.

This is simply a "formal event" that is performed on a special occasion. It is performed in a solemn elaborate and formal way. Sometimes it is related to an event that is religious in nature. A ceremony is an outward sign of a rite or ritual. It is open and a visible witness to those who are concerned and the community, i.e. the dojo members in this case, and recognizably consistent for the purposes of giving evidence of an event related to a given rite. In another nutshell is is a special celebration or ritual for a notable occasion.

Ritual: A series of actions or type of behavior regularly and invariably followed by someone; A prescribed order of performing such a ceremony, esp. one characteristic of a particular religion or church [ i.e. in this case a martial system, etc.]; An action arising from convention or habit; A customary observance or practice; a prescribed procedure for conducting ceremonies; a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc.; etc.

Announcement: A public and typically formal statement about a fact, occurrence, or intention; The action of making such a statement; etc.

Mr. Rob Redmond provided a wonderful post on "ceremonies" and in the comments differentiates between a ceremony, a ritual, and just an announcement. I tend to think a bit differently on his view of a ceremony. To me if one is applying a public formal act for a specific occasion, i.e. a new person joining a dojo, then it is a ceremony. As to the particulars of such a ceremony, that would provide the difference between it being a formalized ceremony vs. a simple dojo ritual. After all the definitions of both do cross over a bit.

I would agree that if you simply inform the dojo members that here is a new guy please make them feel welcome, that is merely an announcement.

I believe that if a dojo has a formalized ritualistic event, act or a series of acts to start all training and practice then that is a ceremony. If everyone lines up according to some order, faces a wall that may contain a type of setting such as the systems creator's picture, etc. and perform a meditation session which is an act that is part of a series of acts then it is a ceremony. When it continues the series of acts such as bowing to the kamidana, bowing to Sensei, bowing to the Dai-sempai and then rising and given a command to begin training to me that is a ceremony.

This is also a dojo ritual because the meaning actually references it being a type of ceremony. It is also a custom that is considered by some systems as a tradition for that system. The lines can be a bit blurred much like all the lines that are used to differentiate between rank awards, etc.

One person's ceremony can be another's ritual and still another's tradition; but they all, depending on the views of the individual, cam be a ceremony of one level/degree or another.

In a nutshell, it depends and is dependent entirely on those who practice such things. No one outside that particular group can or has the right to say it is or is not a ceremony, etc. Much like I have no right to say if someone is or is not a qualified black belt. That also is exclusive to the relationship of the Sensei and the individual.