Okay, I think I see where the confusion is. Checking www.dictionary.com, one of the verb forms of wake means
The noun form of wake means a couple of things
I took the meaning of wake (as it pertains to the death of someone) to be a metaphor of the 2 second definitions of the noun form. In other words, what happens after someone’s passing.
Learn something new everyday.
BTW, my condolences to you jackelope, and to your friend’s family.
We’ve always had “wakes” with the body there with visitation sometimes for a couple of days, prior to the funeral.
Then there’s the actual funeral, the burial, then the “repast”
The repast is where you go afterwards and eat, usually someones house. I don’t know why its called a “repast” though.
I still can’t figure out why you go Eat after you have a funeral. Is everybody hungry then or what? Maybe its a way of celebrating the fact that you are still alive. ?
Probably because there’s a serious loss of appetite until after the interment. When it’s over and done with, those hunger pains strike up again.
Thanks for all the replies, folks. Im’ back from the “wake,” and it was a tear-jerking ceremony, but there was not a viewing; apparently that’s in a few days.
I’m also copmletely loaded, so I’ll close here. Thanks again.
A repast is simply any served meal. I would suspect that the word simply got attached to that event in your neighborhood.
Around here, they are called “funeral breakfast” or “funeral brunch” and are often provided by the church in the hall (although I have seen them at people’s homes, as well.
It is not that odd a concept to serve food after the funeral. You have a large (one hopes) crowd of people who have come together to pay their respects, often making a journey of some distance. The providing of food removes the burden of having them find their own meal on the way home while providing a further opportunity to pay their respects to the family (especially if they were not able to make it to the wake/calling hours/reception/viewing), swap stories, and engage in other acts of fellowship before dispersing.
I grew up (Southeast Michigan with Hoosier antecedents) calling the one (or sometimes two) days of viewing prior to the funeral the wake, but discovered that a lot of people from Northeast Ohio refer to calling hours.
(I haven’t seen a rosary prayed at a Catholic funeral in decades, although there is usually a scripture service on the evening before the funeral.)
We still do them down here in Houston. Every Catholic funeral I’ve been to has had the rosary said the night before. What is this scripture service you speak of? I’ve never heard of that being done.