Hi List, OK, here is a question for you. We were just working on a book which was describing a wake which took place during the mid. to late 1800's. It was set in the house of a family, and in an area, with strong Scottish connections. The part which neither of us could understand was in a description of how the room was prepared for the wake. There were various "precautions" mentioned including covering pictures and drawing curtains, which we had heard of before, but the one that stopped us was, "covering the cupboard with a white sheet." Neither of us had ever heard of such a custom before, nor could we understand why it would have been done. Most of the other customs have fairly obvious origins in showing mourning and respect for the dead in various ways. But we simply could not figure out how covering a cupboard would show mourning or prevent an inadvertent lack of respect. I appreciate this isn't a "hard core" genealogy question but then this list has always seen the wisdom in understanding the customs and habits of our forefathers in addition to the factual business of dates and relationships - quite apart from being one of the most knowledgeable of all the lists I monitor. So, there's the challenge - if you chose to accept it. :-) Malcolm Archive CD Books Canada Inc. President: Malcolm Moody PO Box 11 Manotick Ontario, K4M 1A2 Canada. (613) 692-2667 WEB SITE: http://www.ArchiveCDBooks.ca