A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.

A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:

Sometimes, a ceremony may only be performed by a person with certain authority. For example, the opening of the United Kingdom Parliament is presided over by the Sovereign (Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). A captain or a higher-ranked naval officer usually supervises the naming and launching of a warship. A wedding is performed by a priest or a Civil Celebrant, as in Australia. The President of the United States is customarily sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States, and the British sovereign is always crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Other, society-wide ceremonies may mark annual or seasonal or recurrent events such as:

Other ceremonies underscore the importance of non-regular special occasions, such as:

In some Asian cultures, ceremonies also play an important social role, for example the tea ceremony.

The Emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people" according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, which dissolved the Empire of Japan when it was adopted by the Postwar Japanese government. He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion as he and his family are said to be direct descendants of Amaterasu.

The Emperor is called the Tennō (天皇) in Japanese, literally meaning "heavenly sovereign". He is also referred to in English as the Mikado (帝) of Japan. Currently the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of emperor.

The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world. In Nihon Shoki, a book of Japanese history finished in the eighth century, it is said that the Empire of Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. The current emperor is His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Akihito, who has been on the Chrysanthemum Throne since his father the Showa Emperor (Hirohito) died in 1989.

Xi Jinping (pronounced [ɕǐ tɕînpʰǐŋ] English approx.:SHEE JIN PING; born 1 June 1953) is a high-ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the top-ranked member of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the country's Vice President, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the 6th ranked member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top power organ.

Son of communist veteran Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping served mostly in Fujian province in his early career. He was later appointed party chief of the neighboring Zhejiang province, and then was appointed as Shanghai's party chief following the dismissal of Chen Liangyu. Known for his tough stance on corruption and a frank openness about political and market economy reforms, Xi's combination of positions makes him the presumptive heir to current General Secretary and President Hu Jintao and the Paramount leader of the Communist Party of China's fifth generation of leadership.