Pretext for celebration (8)
I believe the answer is:
occasion
I believe this is a double definition.
'pretext' is the first definition.
(pretext can mean a reason or occasion for a thing)
'for celebration' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for occasion that I've seen before include "Time of a particular event" , "Provoke" , "Special event or celebration" , "Need" , "Cocoa's in (anag.)" .)