A wake is an old fashioned term for sitting with the body to make sure it really is dead. This practice kind of got thrown out with the 60's and flower power. Pretty much if you hear of a wake the south does still, according to some religions, do sit with the body until the day of the funeral. Mostly though, the widow, with the help of close family, will sit until then. I believe she is referring to the funeral and that it entails. My mother attended a wake and I believe she was 12 when she sat with her cousin for a couple of hours while the widow took a break.
I find it freaky to sit with a dead corpse for several hours.
I think it will be the final viewing, the service, the cemetary and then the buffet and meeting of the family. This is according to the 5 I went to in month. Yes, folks, 1 month of 5 funerals. It did get comical after a while.
