The Bible’s View

Should Christians Hold Wakes for the Dead?

KEEPING watch over the body of a dead person has long been a custom throughout the world. Today, even though in some lands such wakes for the dead seldom are observed, in other countries forms of this ancient practice are common.

What is behind this custom? How did it originate? And should Christians hold wakes for the dead?

The Underlying Purposes

According to one reference work, this custom “probably began because people believed that evil spirits might possess an unburied corpse if it were left alone.” However, it has also been suggested that the practice of friends and neighbors gathering to keep an all-night vigil over a corpse originated in the superstitious dread “of passing the night alone with a dead body.”

Casting further light on the matter of holding a wake for the dead, the Encyclopædia Britannica states: “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. . . . With the introduction of Christianity the offering of prayer was added to the vigil. 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. With the Reformation and the consequent disuse of prayers for the dead the custom of ‘waking’ became obsolete in England, but survived in Ireland.”

Some Present-Day Practices

Customs involving wakes for the dead vary considerably from one part of the world to another. In certain Latin-American lands, if the deceased happens to be a child, the dead youngster is placed in a chair and dressed as an angel. It is believed by friends and relatives that the child’s “immortal soul” will fly straight to heaven. A wake may be kept all night, but its mood may seem festive, for fireworks may be set off and joyous songs may be sung to the sound of instrumental music. Food will be on hand, and so will alcoholic beverages.

Among members of Christendom’s denominations in West Africa, it is not especially the fear of spirits that prompts the holding of wakes. Generally, friends and relatives desire to share the immediate family’s grief and pay a final tribute to the deceased. Seldom is there a melancholy mood, however, and there is food and drink. At times, people hardly acquainted with the dead person will attend his wake, thus consuming food and drink at someone else’s expense. Of course, many doubtless have noble motives in attending a wake, although boisterousness and actual fighting may mark the occasion.

During some tribal wakes, efforts have been made to communicate with supernatural powers, and fortune-telling has been practiced. Occasionally, a plate containing “medicine” has been placed under the corpse, and it is thought that applying this “medicine” enables a person to see visions. Some have applied it to heal self-inflicted wounds on their lips and cheeks. And certain manifestations that have occurred seem to have been caused by occult powers.

Evaluating the Evidence

Clearly, then, wakes for the dead do not have a Christian origin. Often they have been associated with superstition. So, if superstitious views are linked with what are termed ‘wakes for the dead’ in a certain area, Christians living there could hardly share in such a custom. Spiritual light and truth from God have given them freedom from superstition and false worship, and they do not take that liberation lightly.—Ps. 43:3; John 8:32.

If ‘wakes for the dead’ in a particular locality are associated with heavy drinking and drunken brawling, there is sound reason for godly persons to be absent. To fellow worshipers of Jehovah God, the Christian apostle Paul wrote: “As in the daytime let us walk decently, not in revelries and drunken bouts.”—Rom. 13:13.

Where fortune-telling and attempts to communicate with spirits are practiced at wakes, there is added reason for Christians to be absent. “Practice of spiritism” is a ‘work of the flesh’ that bars those continuing to engage in occultism from inheriting God’s kingdom. (Gal. 5:19-21) Also, Jehovah’s people of ancient times were pointedly told: “There should not be found in you . . . anyone who consults a spirit medium or a professional foreteller of events or anyone who inquires of the dead.”—Deut. 18:10-12.

Yet, what about fear of the dead that may prompt the holding of a wake for the deceased? This dread is unwarranted, for the Scriptures indicate that man does not possess an immortal soul. Rather, we are told that “the dead . . . are conscious of nothing at all . . . there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [mankind’s common grave], the place to which you are going.” (Eccl. 9:5, 10) Elsewhere God’s Word says, “The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.” (Ezek. 18:20) Not even a seemingly innocent child is an exception, for all humans have inherited sin and death from the first man, Adam. (1 Ki. 8:46; Rom. 5:12) Hence, a deceased child has no “immortal soul” that flies to heaven instantly to become an angel. Moreover, heavenly angels are not deceased humans but are direct creations.—Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:7.

Christians, therefore, do not fear the dead or feel compelled to hold a wake for the deceased. Nor do they ‘sorrow as the rest do who have no hope.’ (1 Thess. 4:13) True, they are sad about the death of a loved one, even as the perfect man Jesus Christ shed tears over the death of his friend Lazarus. But on that very occasion, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, giving all believers firm reason to hope in the resurrection of those in God’s memory.—John 11:30-44; Acts 24:15.

Aiding the Bereaved

In localities where a ‘wake for the dead’ is linked with unscriptural practices and views, Christians certainly will not share in the local customs. But what if the term “wake” is loosely applied to visiting the bereaved family at their home or in a funeral parlor?

Death may occur at a time when it is not possible to remove the body immediately. In such instances, Christians may find it most beneficial to spend a night with the relatives, even while the corpse is still in the house. As long as unscriptural practices are not involved, there is no Biblical objection to visiting mourning ones and offering them assistance, condolences and “comfort from the Scriptures.”—Rom. 15:4; Job 29:25; John 5:28, 29.