典礼
diǎnlǐ · HSK 5
ceremony
🎉 典礼 = canon/standard (典) + rite (礼) — a formal ceremony
典 means a classical canon or standard text (think 字典 dictionary), and 礼 is ritual/etiquette. Together they name an occasion governed by formal rules: a ceremony, rite, or celebration.
礼 — 示 (altar/ritual) + 乚 (simplified from 豊)
Originally 禮, showing 示 (altar) beside 豊 (a ritual vessel of grain), depicting offerings made at a shrine. The character meant religious ceremony, then broadened to social rites, courtesy, and gifts. The simplified form 礼 keeps 示 and replaces 豊 with the abbreviated 乚.