Black Rod 1350 by royal letters patent, though the current title dates from 1522. The position was adopted by other members of the Commonwealth when they adopted the British Westminster system. The title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony staff topped with a golden lion, which is the main symbol of the office's authority. A ceremonial rod or staff is a common type of symbol indicating the authority of the office-holder. Depictions of ancient authority figures in many cultures include such a rod (alternatively called a sceptre). Another early example was the fasces (literally a bound bundle of rods)
Ceremonial first puck surface of flat ice led to the use of what the "Montreal Gazette" of March 4, 1875 called "a flat, circular piece of wood" which "slid about between the players with great velocity". The same publication finally referred to the hockey object as a "puck" on February 7, 1876. Ceremonial first puck The ceremonial first puck is a longstanding ritual of ice hockey in which a guest of honor drops a puck to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Like baseball's ceremonial first pitch, this first puck does not actually begin play but is