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why do people cover mirrors at a wake
Why do people cover mirrors at wakes
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There are more superstitions about mirrors than you can poke a stick at. Turning them around to face the wall or covering during thunderstorms is another. And of course breaking one is an ill omen...but burying the broken shards in the ground offsets the bad luck somewhat! They are comparatively 'modern' and the first mirrors were owned only by the very wealthy due to their rarity and high cost to make. We take them for granted, but think about what a scary item the first mirrors would have been to people who were still very superstitious. Apart from fuzzy images in bright metal or glass or even fuzzier ones in water NOBODY had ever seen their own reflection! The mirror was almost certainly an engine of the devil, and no doubt held our soul in the mysterious reflection. Along with untold secrets about anyone who dared to gaze into one. And naturally, the cunning mirror remembered everything it ever reflected! Spooky, or what? I've always been vaguely fascinated by folklore. Anything regarding mirrors can be attributed to the 'shock of the new'. Something unfathomable to the majority of the first people to encounter it. Sort of 'alien technology'. If you sit in front of a mirror holding a candle in a dark room you might see your spirit behind you, over your shoulder. Don't turn around...but you can ask it one question, about anything and it must answer true and in full. Isn't that one lovely?? The covering of a mirror at a wake may also be tied in to an old custom among the noble houses whereby the death of a family member would see the ornate gilt frames of paintings and mirrors get a temporary coat of black paint, as a sign of mourning.
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