The Importance of Ceremonies

Magda Palmer

"We not only nurture our sacred relationships through ritual, but we are nurtured by them as well. In ritual, we move, and we are moved".

Alison Leigh Lilly, "Turning the Soil of Soul: Ritual as Celebration", Patheos, February 11, 2016

Ceremonies legitimize the intangible in the eyes of a community. For instance, the ceremony involved in becoming an Australian Citizen represents a commitment to Australia and its people. It gives a sense of belonging because you can fully participate in all aspects of Australian life. On a very grand scale, would the general public have recognised Queen Elizabeth without the elaborate ceremony associated with her coronation?

Ceremonies tie communities and their structures together;

Ceremonies are a public and more often a legal declaration;

Ceremonies make promises public and therefore strengthen the resolutions.

A Marriage ceremony formally introduces the entry of a new person to the family and community;

Marriage is constituted under Australian law so there is a small, but vitally important legal process that has to be followed during and in the form of a ceremony, which will therefore be a legal ceremony within a personal ceremony;

Ceremonies bring families together;

A ceremony for a funeral is a formal farewell for the departed and closure for those living;

A naming ceremony officially introduces the person named into the community and more usually publically names mentors for children who have been given public purpose for their responsibilities to those children;

Ceremonies give purpose and reason with clarity;

The anniversary of a ceremony gives cause to bring families and like-minded people together to mark an important occasion.


Go to Ideas for Ceremonies

"Ah me! love can not be cured by herbs". - Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BCE – 17 or 18 CE), known as Ovid in the English-speaking world -Roman poet