Wake (ceremony)
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A wake is a social gathering associated with death, usually held before a funeral. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home or another convenient location. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing. It is often a social rite that highlights the idea that the loss is one of a social group and affects that group as a whole.[1]
The term originally referred to a late-night prayer vigil but is now mostly used for the social interactions accompanying a funeral. While the modern usage of the verb wake is "become or stay alert", a wake for the dead harks back to the vigil, "watch" or "guard" of earlier times. It is a misconception that people at a wake are waiting in case the deceased should "wake up".[2]
Origin
The term wake was originally used to denote a prayer vigil, often an annual event held on the feast day of the saint to whom a parish church was dedicated.[3] Over time the association with prayer has become less important, although not lost completely,[4] and in many countries a wake is now mostly associated with the social interactions accompanying a funeral.[2]
It used to be the custom in most Celtic countries in Europe for mourners to keep watch or vigil over their dead until they were buried — this was called a "wake".
With the change to the more recent practice of holding the wake at a funeral home rather than the home, the custom of providing refreshment to the mourners is often held directly after the funeral at the house or another convenient location.
See also
- Shemira, the custom of "guarding" the body of the deceased in Judaism
- Funeral
- Nine nights
- Jazz funeral
- Month's Mind
- Lying in state
- Memorial service (Orthodox)
- Viewing (funeral)
References
- ^ 1991 Metcalf, Peter & Richard Huntington. Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual. Cambridge Press, New York. Print.
- ^ a b [1] Ivan Brunetti; Wilton, David A. (2004). Word myths: debunking linguistic urban legends. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517284-1.
- ^ Harland, John; Wilkinson, T. T. (1873). "Pageants, maskings and mummings". Lancashire legends traditions, pageants. George Routledge and Sons. pp. 123–124.
- ^ Lysik, David; Gilmour, Peter (September 1996). Now and at the Hour of Our Death: Instructions Concerning My Death and Funeral. Liturgy Training Publications. p. 28. ISBN 1568542860.
External links
- A first hand account of a modern Irish Wake
- Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). . The American Cyclopædia.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.