Irish American on my mother’s side here. I didn’t realize wakes weren’t a thing that people did until I was an adult. There would always be an open casket, payi

Irish American on my mother’s side here. I didn’t realize wakes weren’t a thing that people did until I was an adult. There would always be an open casket, paying of respects, and a party. I find the article to be as much about the preparation for death by the dying as it is about the remembrance of those left behind. The willingness to accept it as a normal thing, a celebration of life.