Wake

What a wake is

A wake is a gathering that happens in the time between someone's death and their funeral. Those closest to the dead person keep watch over the body, most often at home, though a funeral home or another convenient place may be used instead. The watch gives people a chance to be near the person one last time, to say what they feel and to comfort each other. Because the whole community shares in the loss, the mood can be warmer than a funeral. Some cultures also hold a gathering after the burial to celebrate the life that has ended.

Where the word comes from

The English word has moved a long way from its beginnings. It first described a late-night prayer vigil, and a vigil of this kind was often held once a year on the feast day of the saint a parish church was named for. The older meaning of the verb wake was to stay awake or to keep watch, which is where the name comes from. People sometimes suppose that those at a wake are waiting in case the dead person wakes up. That is not the case.

An Irish farewell

In Ireland the wake, called tórramh or faire, marks a passage: the dead leave the world of the living and move to the world of the dead. It usually lasts a day or two. After the body is prepared at a funeral home it is brought to the house, the wake house, and relatives and friends call to pay their respects while the family offers hospitality. Windows are left open for the soul, mirrors are covered, clocks are stopped, pets are kept outside and candles burn. Prayers, often the Rosary, are said at intervals between food, drink, music, stories, singing and dancing.

Lament and change

Keening was once central to the Irish wake. A group of women sat around the body and sang a poetic lament addressed to the dead person. One leading keener, the bean chaointe, chanted the verses and began a choral wail that the others joined, swaying as they sang. Some families paid professional keeners to fulfil this duty. Patricia Lysaght describes the shared lament as cathartic for those present. Mourners followed the coffin to the burial ground, wailing until the grave was closed. Church condemnation in the late 19th century put an end to keening and to the rowdier games.

In Japan and elsewhere

In Japan a wake is called otsuya, which means passing night, and it is held the evening before the funeral. A Buddhist priest chants sutras. Those attending wear black; they bring condolence money for the grieving family and offer incense. Only close relatives stay through the night. The ceremony resembles the funeral itself, and many families now choose to omit it. Wakes in the Irish style are still kept in north-western Scotland and northern England. Wales once had gwylnos, held the night before the funeral, and gwylio'r corff, watching the body.

How Wake is kept

In Ireland a death is followed by preparation of the body, which today usually happens at a funeral home before the coffin is taken to the family home. Over the next day or two friends and relatives call, praying at intervals and keeping the family company, and the family feeds them. Male relatives and friends carry the coffin out at the end. In Japan the priest chants while guests file past, and close relatives keep the night watch. A Welsh gwylnos filled the evening before the funeral. Some families now skip the wake.

When and where

A wake is kept in the interval between a death and the burial. Irish wakes commonly run for one or two days before the funeral. The Japanese otsuya falls on the night before the funeral, and the Welsh gwylnos on the night preceding it. Some communities hold a separate gathering after the funeral instead, to celebrate the life of the person who died.

Wakes are kept in Ireland, in Japan, and in parts of the United Kingdom: north-western Scotland, northern England and Wales. Ireland's wake is the best known, and writers still borrow the phrase for large public gatherings of mourning. The Japanese otsuya belongs to Buddhist funeral practice. Wakes and viewings appear in the death customs of many other cultures too.

What Wake means

Those who keep a wake are doing several things at once. They honour the person who died and celebrate the life they lived. They confirm that the death has truly happened. They guard the body and, in older belief, protect it from harm and settle the soul. Above all they show that the loss belongs to everyone, not to one household. Food, drink and company carry that message, and in Ireland the music and talk were once understood as a way of reasserting the community's life in the face of death.

Questions people ask about Wake

See also

Rite of passageA ceremony that marks leaving one group and entering another, with a new statusAntyestiThe traditional Hindu funeral ceremony and final rite of passageIkatA resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weavingPretaOfferings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Wake (ceremony) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.