Published January 14, 2013
Barack Obama will be inaugurated to his second term in office this month. His official swearing in is on Sunday, January 20 - the date prescribed by federal law. But the ceremony will be repeated for the public on Monday, January 21. The inauguration of a president caps a political process that started more than a year and a half earlier. The ceremonies are steeped in tradition and symbolism, meant to show the continuity and strength of the American political system. VOA's Jeffrey Young has more.