social function, social occasion, occasion, affair, function - a vaguely specified social event; "the party was quite an affair"; "an occasion arranged to honor the president"; "a seemingly endless round of social functions"

circumstance - formal ceremony about important occasions; "pomp and circumstance"

funeral - a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated; "hundreds of people attended his funeral"

hymeneals, nuptials, wedding, wedding ceremony - the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed

pageantry, pageant - 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, memorialisation, memorialization - a ceremony to honor the memory of someone or something

military ceremony - a formal ceremony performed by military personnel

induction, initiation, installation - a formal entry into an organization or position or office; "his initiation into the club"; "he was ordered to report for induction into the army"; "he gave a speech as part of his installation into the hall of fame"

exercise - (usually plural) a ceremony that involves processions and speeches; "academic exercises"

fire walking - the ceremony of walking barefoot over hot stones or a bed of embers

formalities, formality - a requirement of etiquette or custom

Maundy - a public ceremony on Maundy Thursday when the monarch distributes Maundy money

formal - being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress); "pay one's formal respects"; "formal dress"; "a formal ball"; "the requirement was only formal and often ignored"; "a formal education"