This part of the ceremony was regarded as nothing more than formal ritual.

Cleaning was important and until a formal ritual had been devised it was a dangerous operation.

It was a formal ritual; one which had been enacted many times before.

But Search is the formal ritual down here to deal with the same problem.

The spirit of a true believer, even one not conversant with the formal ritual, would have claim on the god.

The formal fire-and-straw ritual soon went by the board as things began to disintegrate.

In Nice, new members were initiated in a formal ritual.

The closest thing to formal ritual among his worshipers is eating and drinking contests.

An hour a week of formal ritual was no comfort to the mind or the soul when faced with reality.

It's a very formal ritual that lasts only about 15 minutes.