Word: ritual
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Most of us don't think about it. The handshake is expected and is executed automatically in a ritual little babble of nicetomeetyouhowdoyoudo? If you had an attack of fastidiousness and refused to shake someone's extended hand, then the handshake would become an awkwardness and an issue, a refusal being an outright insult...
...However, Kirshner doesn't think this argument will persuade many horoscope readers. "It doesn't matter to them," he says. "It's a system of belief, not a scientific thing... It's outside organized religion, but it has all the trappings of it. It has ceremony, it has ritual, it has books of authority that are not unquestionable...
...hold Harvard's collection of Asian, Ancient, Islamic, and Indian art, the Sackler is the newest addition to the Harvard University Museums. The holdings contain one of the best jade collections in the country, as well an extensive representation of early Chinese bronzes (most notably a series of three ritual bells from the late Chou dynasty). Also particularly strong are the ancient Greek vases, with exquisite exa.m.ples of both red-figure and black-figure techniques. Not to be missed: the beautifully preserved and delicately painted Japanese hand-scroll depicting "The Tale of the Rat." Currently on display: "Letters in Gold...
...weeks ago, members of the senior class were instructed to wear bright, bold colors. Arrive, on time, for a familiar fall ritual, the Yearbook Photo. Some went shopping for a neck-line that could be immortalized, others stressed over the appropriateness of pearls and a few simply didn't care that much at all. Facing a two-hour wait to access the velvet-ensconced studio, I sympathized with the latter camp and staged a quick disappearing...
...floor with her walkie-talkie. Scores of teachers and student monitors are assigned sections of the gym, alert to everything from fights to the booing of freshmen, a long-standing tradition that has been banned this year as part of the campaign against factionalism. Also gone is the ritual of announcing entire team rosters during the pep rally. Administrators don't want to turn an otherwise popular jock into a target of the disaffected. Says Cliff Ice, the new football coach: "We don't want the players to be perceived around the school as something special...