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Why are funerals called wakes?

Question

Why do you call a funeral a wake when the person isn’t awake?
Mercedes, Woolwich

Answer

Name: Andy, A120
Qualification: I'm awake
Answer: Years ago, people used dinner plates made of zinc and if you ate moist food off them, a chemical reaction caused you to go ashen-faced and possibly go into a coma. They are called wakes as people used to sit with these people all night to check whether they were dead, or would ‘wake’.

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