  thumb|wake (museum display) a wake is a ceremony associated with death. 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. in the united states and canada it is synonymous with a viewing. it is often a social rite which highlights the idea that the loss is one of a social group and affects that group as a whole.1991 metcalf, peter & richard huntington. celebrations of death: the anthropology of mortuary ritual. cambridge press, new york. print. __notoc__ 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 antiquated "watch" or "guard" sense. this is contrary to the misconception that people at a wake are waiting in case the deceased should "wake up."  ==origin== the term wake originated from middle english wakien, waken, from old english wacan, to wake up and wacian, to be awake, keep watch. and 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. over time the association with prayer has become less important, although not lost completely, and in many countries a wake is now mostly associated with the social interactions accompanying a funeral. 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&nbsp;â this was called a "wake". with the change to the more recent practice of holding the wake at a funeral home ra
Christian_worship_practices Death_customs Irish_culture Prayer Undertaking