pageant vs ceremony

pageant and ceremony both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
pageant	Yes	No	No	No
ceremony	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, ceremony is a hypernym of pageant; that is, ceremony is a word with a broader meaning than pageant:

Other hypernyms of pageant include ceremonial, ceremonial occasion, observance.

pageant (noun)	ceremony (noun)
an elaborate representation of scenes from history etc; usually involves a parade with rich costumes	the proper or conventional behavior on some solemn occasion
a rich and spectacular ceremony	any activity that is performed in an especially solemn elaborate or formal way
	a formal event performed on a special occasion