We encountered our first wake this past week. It was right outside of our apartment building, so we walked through it for the 2 days that it was going on. It was quite interesting. . . and sad at the same time.

So, I went home and did some research. This was pretty interesting to me since funeral homes are a Curry/Stevens family business you know

According to my research, the coffin is not sealed during the wake. Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering to the deceased. The deceased’s comb is broken into two — one part is placed in the coffin and the other is kept by the family.

During the wake, the family does not wear jewelry or red clothing (red is the color of happiness). Traditionally, children and grandchildren of the deceased did not cut their hair for 49 days after the death, but this custom is now usually only observed by older generations.

An altar for burning incense and a lit white candle are placed at the foot of the coffin. Joss paper and prayer money (to provide the deceased with sufficient income in the afterlife) are burned continuously throughout the wake. Funeral guests are required to light incense for the deceased and bow as a sign of respect to the family. There will also be a donation box since money is always offered as a sign of respect to the family of the deceased. This money will also help the family defray the costs of the funeral.

During the wake there is usually a group of people gambling in the front courtyard of the deceased’s house because the corpse must be “guarded,” and gambling helps the guards stay awake during their vigil. This custom also helps to lessen the grief of the participants.

We saw the altar where incense and paper money was being burned. . we also saw people playing games and eating. There were people present around the clock for 2 days. Then it was all gone. Really quite an interesting part of this culture!