closing mid-way; mid-event closing
Refers to the act of bringing a formal event or party to a close before the very end, often with a short speech or hand-clapping ceremony.
Please give the mid-event closing speech at the banquet.
mid-event break; intermission with ceremonial clapping
Specifically the break or pause taken during an event, often marked by a formal hand-clapping ritual (手締め) before continuing.
After the mid-event break, we'll move on to the after-party.
Compound of 中 (naka, 'middle') and 締め (shime, 'closing, tightening'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally associated with the practice of formally pausing or closing a social gathering partway through.