question on British funeral practices

[bluesqueak]

Pip!Squeak wrote:
> > > 
> > For a start, 'wake' is a term which would only be used by people 
> > of Irish descent. It's an Irish tradition, not an English, Welsh 
> > or Scottish one. 

  Caipora wrote:

> I don't think it's an Irish vs English thing, but rather a 
> Catholic vs. Protestant one. 
> 
> Wakes are always done where I'm from (Brazil) and the Irish are 
> not a large ethnic group here. Whether witches tend towards 
> Catholic or Protestant would go back to Henry VIII, and Rowling 
> has always been vague on religion. 
> 
> I think you get your pick. It might be fun to justify either 
choice.
>  
>   -

Ah, no. The point is not what is *done*. The point is the English, 
Scottish and Welsh would never call the things they do around a 
death a 'wake'.

It's quite possible for an English Catholic (some did survive Henry 
VIII {g}) to have a funeral with a vigil by the coffin (probably in 
church), followed by full sung mass, followed by a party after the 
burial which gets pretty lively. They wouldn't *call* any of that 
a 'wake', though. 

It's a language thing. 'Wake' in British (and Irish!) English 
means 'traditional Irish funeral'. In American English it seems to 
mean either the vigil or the party, I'm not quite sure. But in a 
British WW set fanfic, it would be the use of the *word* 'wake' for 
anything other than a traditional-style Irish funeral that would 
sound odd. 

Pip!Squeak