Is It a Christian Practice?

By “Awake!” correspondent in El Salvador

THE evening was warm, with the typical humidity of the tropics. As my wife and I rounded a certain corner on our way home, something interrupted our thoughts and conversation. We were hearing the sounds of what seemed to be a fiesta, or party.

Drawing near the house from which the sound came, we noted the usual evidences of a wild party. Some had become loud and belligerent from heavy drinking. On the sidewalk just outside the house men were arguing.

But there was something different about this gathering. Everyone in attendance was dressed in black. After crossing the street to avoid the crowd, something in the house caught our eyes. At one end of the room was a small casket, apparently that of a child. Wreaths (coronas) of flowers covered the casket. In front of it someone had placed candles.

All of this filled us with curiosity. Evidently noting our puzzled expressions, a man walking on our side of the street approached us and explained: “Es una vela,” meaning: “It’s a wake.” He added: “They’ll be there all night.”

This left us with many questions. We wondered: What is the purpose of staying awake throughout the night in the presence of someone dead? Why adorn the coffin with wreaths and put lighted candles nearby? Since someone had died, was it appropriate for mourners to engage in heavy drinking and partying? Is holding all-night wakes for the dead a Christian practice?

Digging Up Some Answers

We returned home that evening determined to dig up some answers to these questions. Our research included interviews with persons here in El Salvador, as well as consulting reference works. What did we find out?

The Spanish-language Enciclopedia Ilustrada Cumbre notes that the purpose of a wake is to be with the family of the deceased and to bestow homage upon that one. Not always is the body in a casket. At times it may be left on the deathbed. Religious objects and lighted wax candles usually surround the corpse. On occasion the wake includes burning herbs or incense as well as placing flowers around the coffin. As was the case with the wake we observed, frequently the household provides food and drink for mourners in attendance.

We discovered that customs at wakes vary somewhat in different areas. For example, in some Latin-American countries a dead child is placed in a chair and dressed as an angel. This is in the belief that the youngster’s “immortal soul” will go straight to heaven. In the same vein, we read in El Salvador’s daily paper, El Diario de Hoy:

“In some communities of El Salvador and Central America when someone dies, especially if it is a child, fireworks are set off and joyful songs are sung to the beat of guitars and violins. Tamales are made along with pastry and these are served with alcoholic beverages. . . . The people from these communities believe that the children fly immediately to heaven and turn into ‘little angels of God.’ According to those who know, this custom of singing in a wake or burial occasion is a rare mixing of Christianity with unknown native [Indian] traditions.”

Non-Christian Origin

That last expression, “a rare mixing of Christianity with unknown native [Indian] traditions,” emphasized an important point. Wakes do not have a Christian origin. Confirming this is an item in the Encyclopædia Britannica regarding wakes in England:

“The custom, as far as England was concerned, seems to have been older than Christianity, and to have been at first essentially Celtic. Doubtless it had a superstitious origin, the fear of evil spirits hurting or even removing the body, aided perhaps by the practical desire to keep away rats and other vermin. . . . With the introduction of Christianity the offering of prayer was added to the mere vigil, which until then had been characterized by formal mourning chants and recitals of the life story of the dead. As a rule the corpse, with a plate of salt on its breast, was placed under the table, on which was liquor for the watchers. These private wakes soon tended to become drinking orgies.”

Besides the non-Christian origin of wakes, the ceremonies that accompany them, such as the use of wreaths and lighted candles, as well as the strange custom of dressing dead children to look like “angels,” are opposed to Christianity. How so? Because these things suggest to many that people have an immortal soul that goes on living after death.

The Bible, however, presents death in an entirely different light. Jesus’ words about one of his friends who had died are revealing. We read: “‘Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.’ Therefore the disciples said to him: ‘Lord, if he has gone to rest, he will get well.’ Jesus had spoken, however, about his death. But they imagined he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. At that time, therefore, Jesus said to ‘them outspokenly: ‘Lazarus has died.’”​—John 11:11-14.

Jesus likened death to sleep. Just as people are unconscious while asleep, so the Bible assures: “As for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.”​—Eccl. 9:5; Job 3:11-13; Ps. 146:3, 4.

Does this mean that we can never again see our dead loved ones? On the contrary, Jesus promised: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” (John 5:28, 29) During his earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated his power in this regard. The Bible records three resurrections that he performed. (Luke 7:11-17; 8:41, 42, 49-56; John 11:1-44) Interestingly, when resurrected, the deceased individuals came back to life as humans. Jesus was thus demonstrating the certainty of the resurrection hope, rather than the survival of an immortal soul into some invisible realm.

Our research was indeed revealing. Summing up, we learned that all-night wakes for the dead originated in pre-Christian, non-Biblical religion. Also, this custom promotes the false belief that at death an immortal soul passes on to life in an invisible realm. Bible principles, too, are violated at wakes due to the heavy drinking and unrestrained conduct that often occur.​—Rom. 13:13, 14; 1 Pet. 4:3.

Of course, visiting bereaved persons to offer comfort and help is a fine thing. Whether one does this during visiting hours at a funeral home or otherwise is a matter of personal choice. However, observing extended periods of mourning and all-night vigils is not a Christian practice.