Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is a Funeral?What Is a Wake?What Is a Visitation?Wake vs. Visitation
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is a Funeral?
What Is a Wake?
What Is a Visitation?
Wake vs. Visitation
Wakes and visitations are different types of gatherings that occur before afuneral. Awakeis a tradition where close family and friends gather in the presence of the deceased who lies in state. Avisitationis a general gathering of friends and loved ones before a funeral, usually at a funeral home, to provide comfort to the survivors and pay respect to the deceased.
There can be some overlap between these two traditions depending on religious or cultural traditions, including viewings of the deceased either in an open casket or closed casket.
This article describes the differences between funerals, wakes, and visitations, including how they are practiced in different cultures.
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Some funerals only involve a ceremonial gathering of family and loved ones, such as in a church or cemetery chapel, without a burial or entombment. Others involve the actual burial of the body in a grave, or the placement of the cremated remains in a tomb or mausoleum.
Different cultures perform funerals differently. For example:
A wake is a social gathering associated with the death of a loved one held before the funeral. It is a long-standing Catholic tradition in which family and close friends “keep watch” over the body, often in the home of the deceased.
This is especially true in traditional Irish, Scottish, and Welsh cultures, where a continuous watch is kept over the body for one or two days before the burial. During the period of mourning, the deceased is often laid in an open casket in their best clothes. Friends and other relatives can then visit, bidding their final farewells and praying for the soul of the deceased.
Wakes are practiced in different forms in other cultures where the viewing of the body is a part of the death ritual. This includes various Christian denominations, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
In Jewish culture, the deceased is never displayed before the burial. The same applies in Islam, in which the body is buried as soon as possible after death with no public viewing.
A visitation is another type of social gathering that takes place before the funeral. While similar to a wake, the primary aim of a visitation is to provide comfort and show support to thegrieving family.
Unlike a wake, which is intended for family and close friends, a visitation is open to all funeral attendees and even people in the public who knew the deceased. Visitations are usually scheduled and may be publicly announced in the local newspaper. The signing of a remembrance book is common.
Another difference is that a visitation usually takes place in a funeral home, rather than a home, and may or may not involve the presence of the deceased. If a casket is on display, it will more often be closed.
What Is a Viewing?If there is a casket, either open or closed, the gathering can be described as a viewing. A viewing might also involve the cremated remains of the deceased in an urn. Visitations and viewings are sometimes used synonymously.
What Is a Viewing?
If there is a casket, either open or closed, the gathering can be described as a viewing. A viewing might also involve the cremated remains of the deceased in an urn. Visitations and viewings are sometimes used synonymously.
In some cases, a visitation may be scheduled immediately before the funeral as part of the funeral service. If they are scheduled separately, people may attend the visitation instead of the funeral, or vice versa.
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How a Visitation Is Different From a Wake
Wake and visitations are practiced in different forms Anglican, Baptist, Buddhist, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopalian, Hindu, Methodist, Mormon, and Protestant religions.While the terms are often used interchangeably, their history and intent are distinct.
Visitations are a relatively modern concept that mirrored the rise and growing prominence of undertakers, morticians, and funeral directors during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Today, visitations and viewings have become a means of paying public respect to someone who has died while showing support for those who are left behind.
Wakes, on the other hand, predate the rise of Christianity. Some European pagans held wakes—vigils for the dead—due to superstitions that “evil spirits” might take possession of the body if not watched and prayed over.Today, wakes are a deeply intimate means of sharing grief with those closest to the deceased in the presence of the deceased.
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Summary
Wakes and visitations are similar in that they are used to bid a final farewell to the deceased while providing comfort and support to the surviving family. However, wakes involve keeping watch over the body, often in an open casket and usually in a home, for one to two days. Visitations tend to take place in funeral homes with an open casket, closed casket, or, in some cases, no viewing at all.
11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Memorial Planning.Jewish funeral guide.Department of Veterans Affairs.Military funeral honors and the committal service.Funeralwise.Christian Orthodox funeral service rituals.Funeralwise.Hindu funeral customs and rituals.National Museum of Funeral History.Jazz funerals of New Orleans.National Catholic Register.The traditional Irish wake highlights importance of praying for departed souls.Everplans.Religious perspectives on holding a viewing, wake, or visitation.Funeralwise.Islamic funeral customs and service rituals.Burrell A, Selman LE.How do funeral practices impact bereaved relatives' mental health, grief and bereavement? A mixed methods review with implications for COVID-19.Omega (Westport).2022;85(2):345–383. doi:10.1177/0030222820941296Library of Congress.Evolution of American funerary customs and laws.Mc Laughlin M.Keening the dead: ancient history or a ritual for today?.Religions. 2019;10(4):235. doi:10.3390/rel10040235
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Memorial Planning.Jewish funeral guide.Department of Veterans Affairs.Military funeral honors and the committal service.Funeralwise.Christian Orthodox funeral service rituals.Funeralwise.Hindu funeral customs and rituals.National Museum of Funeral History.Jazz funerals of New Orleans.National Catholic Register.The traditional Irish wake highlights importance of praying for departed souls.Everplans.Religious perspectives on holding a viewing, wake, or visitation.Funeralwise.Islamic funeral customs and service rituals.Burrell A, Selman LE.How do funeral practices impact bereaved relatives' mental health, grief and bereavement? A mixed methods review with implications for COVID-19.Omega (Westport).2022;85(2):345–383. doi:10.1177/0030222820941296Library of Congress.Evolution of American funerary customs and laws.Mc Laughlin M.Keening the dead: ancient history or a ritual for today?.Religions. 2019;10(4):235. doi:10.3390/rel10040235
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Memorial Planning.Jewish funeral guide.Department of Veterans Affairs.Military funeral honors and the committal service.Funeralwise.Christian Orthodox funeral service rituals.Funeralwise.Hindu funeral customs and rituals.National Museum of Funeral History.Jazz funerals of New Orleans.National Catholic Register.The traditional Irish wake highlights importance of praying for departed souls.Everplans.Religious perspectives on holding a viewing, wake, or visitation.Funeralwise.Islamic funeral customs and service rituals.Burrell A, Selman LE.How do funeral practices impact bereaved relatives' mental health, grief and bereavement? A mixed methods review with implications for COVID-19.Omega (Westport).2022;85(2):345–383. doi:10.1177/0030222820941296Library of Congress.Evolution of American funerary customs and laws.Mc Laughlin M.Keening the dead: ancient history or a ritual for today?.Religions. 2019;10(4):235. doi:10.3390/rel10040235
Memorial Planning.Jewish funeral guide.
Department of Veterans Affairs.Military funeral honors and the committal service.
Funeralwise.Christian Orthodox funeral service rituals.
Funeralwise.Hindu funeral customs and rituals.
National Museum of Funeral History.Jazz funerals of New Orleans.
National Catholic Register.The traditional Irish wake highlights importance of praying for departed souls.
Everplans.Religious perspectives on holding a viewing, wake, or visitation.
Funeralwise.Islamic funeral customs and service rituals.
Burrell A, Selman LE.How do funeral practices impact bereaved relatives' mental health, grief and bereavement? A mixed methods review with implications for COVID-19.Omega (Westport).2022;85(2):345–383. doi:10.1177/0030222820941296
Library of Congress.Evolution of American funerary customs and laws.
Mc Laughlin M.Keening the dead: ancient history or a ritual for today?.Religions. 2019;10(4):235. doi:10.3390/rel10040235
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