As we celebrate Emergenetics’s 25th Anniversary, we can take a look what a celebration truly is.
“Celebrate” comes from the Latin [1] celebratus “much-frequented; kept solemn; famous,” past participle of celebrare “assemble to honor,” also “to publish; sing praises of; practice often.” Today, Merriam Webster [2] describes “celebrate” as a verb referring to the action “to perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites or to honor (as a holiday) especially by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business.” To really understand our celebration for Emergenetics’s 25th Anniversary, we can use the clear etymology of “celebrate” and the common words of its definition.
Words like “much-frequented,” “famous,” and “assemble” are reflected in the qualification of celebration as public. Celebrate as an active, shared experience gives us some insight on what we are really doing. As a communal action, we truly celebrate only with others.
“Solemn ceremonies” is again a commonality. Although solemn may not be the first word to come to mind for a celebration, the qualification still exists today. To celebrate drifts from the connotation of strictly fun, and takes on a more serious and joyful complexion. For example in a birthday party, we may do any number of activities, but there is a commonality of coming together to sing “Happy Birthday” around the guest of honor. This moment is as sweet as any but takes on the solemn tone in the tradition of a celebration.
Honor is our final common denominator; even here we have already described a “guest of honor” to delineate their position in a celebration. A celebration should have a subject, someone to receive the action and feel the collective joy provided by others. A celebration calls attention to the honor a person or things has gained from their important actions or positive traits. Singing praise or performing a ceremony again makes a celebration an active and personal occasion.
As Emergenetics celebrates our 25th Anniversary, we share the event with those around us. As a first third expressive, I share my celebration with a thought made public: We honor Emergenetics for honoring ourselves. Our celebration, the public, serious, joyful, and personal celebration, is for the positivity it provides to us. The Meeting of the Minds is a celebration of the profile, your profile honors you and the group is a crowd to sing the praise. For our 25th Anniversary, we should celebrate with every meaning of the word.