Making Meaning Way Beyond Typical Rituals and Ceremonies

Why do we only celebrate/commemorate the REALLY BIG MOMENTS?

You know, like births, marriages, and deaths?

Rituals and ceremonies used to be a regular aspect of life in community.

But increased secularisation and splintering of smaller communities, not to mention our distance from the natural world’s cycles, has resulted in a reduction in what we come together to celebrate.

Don’t get me wrong; births, marriages, and deaths are significant and worthy of our noticing and celebrating them.

But what about when you buy your first house? Or when a friend moves out of the country?

Those smaller milestones and life experiences also comprise what really matters to you and your loved ones.

The cool thing is that you can decide for yourself what is deserving of an extra-special moment, a pause from the standard typical routines.

Setting a ceremony can help acknowledge a change, mark a meaningful relationship or milestone, and set your intention to life aligned with what matters to you.

7 Less Common Ceremony Occasions

• 💜Best Friends Commitment Ceremony: We marry our partner, but what about a party and promise to your ride-or-die, the friend who will always be there, through thick and thin?
• 🏠House Blessing Ceremony: Cultures around the world have many variations on the tradition of moving into a new home, including bringing or preparing certain kinds of foods, saying blessings, inviting loved ones who bring gifts to christen the new domicile, and saying prayers/readings to claim the space for the new occupants.
• 🐕🐈‍⬛Pet / Animal Memorial or Burial: Our animals are a huge part of our families, yet their deaths can sometimes feel like a grief that isn’t fully recognised. A ceremony to acknowledge their existence and the gap left behind can help with grieving and marking the loss.
• 💍Self-Wedding: You are the constant in your life–the only one who will be there the whole way through. Whether you’re partnered, single, polyam, or in transition, what might it be like to commit to loving and backing yourself? Here’s a profile of one Kiwi woman who entered sologamy.
• 💞 Uncoupling/Divorce/Break-up Ceremony: The beginning of relationships and the formalisation of our partnerships unquestioningly get the bulk of the enthusiasm. But an ending can be a time that invites its own acknowledgement and celebration. Rather than only grieving the conclusion, a ceremony can help us step into a time of newness with gratitude for what has been and hope for what can come next.
• 🪹 Empty Nest Transition: Baby showers and birthday parties for young ones give way to their growing up. Your young person moving out (and even if they move back in at some point in the future!) is a time of major transformation. Gathering some of your friends and making an occasion of it can help you navigate the change.
• ✈️ Departure Ritual: When you or someone else is moving away, especially overseas, it’s customary to throw a going-away party. But what about imbuing the gathering with some well-wishes and positive intentions both for the person leaving and for those who remain behind?

A Celebrant can help co-design an impactful, meaningful ceremony or ritual to mark life’s moments.

This is the first post in a series about ceremonies beyond births, marriages, and deaths. You can check out the second list here.

If you’re inspired to make a special day nothing short of extraordinary, reach out to Janel. Clients trust her with their most personal and vulnerable times, which she holds with humour, care, consideration, and intuitive presence. Reach out.