How to Have an Irish Wake

The traditional mourning custom of the Irish wake aids in the grieving process for the family members and other loved ones of the deceased. Follow these steps to hold an Irish wake that both celebrates and mourns the life of the departed.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cloths
• White clothes
• Razor
• Refreshments

1. Open a window immediately after the person dies, so that the spirit of the deceased can escape the room.

2. Close the window after two hours in order to prevent the soul of the departed from returning to her body.

3. Stop all clocks and cover all mirrors with cloths as a sign of respect for the person who has passed away.

4. Gather a group of women together to bathe and dress the body. Dress the deceased in white. If the deceased is a man, shave his face before dressing him.

5. Lay out the body on a table for viewing during the Irish wake. Ensure that people are always in attendance until you bury the deceased.

6. Provide women a space in the room to keen, or vocally lament, the person's passing. Keening sounds like wailing and is a display of mourning.

7. Share food and drink during the Irish wake to celebrate the life of the deceased. Play games and dance to music to give the wake the feeling of a party, rather than a sad occasion.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are an Irish Catholic, you may incorporate religious traditions into the wake. Place a rosary in the deceased person's hands. Then kneel next to the body and pray. Say the rosary at least once during the wake.
• Don't walk or stand between the deceased person and the open window. Doing so is thought to be bad luck, because you are preventing the soul of the departed from leaving the room.
• Don't begin keening until after you prepare the body. If you do, superstition holds that evil spirits can encircle the wake and the deceased.