I don’t get open casket funerals. Am I the only one?

[Anonymous]

Feels so unnecessarily distressing

[Anonymous]

Nope, they're gross.

[Anonymous]

My family does them. So weird IMO.

[Anonymous]

No, you're not. My family never does them.

[Anonymous]

I don't see the point. The person never looks like their live self.

That's the last memory I have of my favorite uncle and I hate, hate, HATE that my parents forced me to view his casket to say goodbye.

When I attend an open casket funeral, I always stay away and never go look now that I'm older and can make my own decisions.

[Anonymous]

The wake is open casket the funeral is always closed casket

[Anonymous]

All death traditions are a little weird if you think about them too hard.

[Anonymous]

Queen Elizabeth II didn't have an open casket, did she?

[Anonymous]

I'm Jewish and I don't get a lot of things Christians do with dead bodies. Embalming them, dressing them, viewing them, keeping them above ground for days. I might be hanging out in a hut with a giant ass lemon, but y'all are weird.

[Anonymous]

The embalming/overly made up part of open caskets can make it feel distressing. Assuming a natural, non-traumatic cause of death, a more immediate open casket funeral can be healing for many people. Grief/loss is always hard, but it can be disembodied (ha) when the person just "disappears." There can be a sense of finality/future acceptance when seeing the body. Of course, that doesn't mean one doesn't grieve or miss the person any less.

I fully support the person who dies deciding how they wish to be remembered. If you haven't, make sure your will etc is in order so your loved ones know what you would prefer and don't do something you may find distasteful (open casket in this case).

[Anonymous]

Ok I actually like them. I’m a millennial and don’t go to too many funerals. I appreciate seeing the dead one last time and how peaceful they look. My grandparents all died at home surrounded by loved ones, so their funerals were happy occasions celebrating their lives.

I get why people think they’re creepy. I’m much more annoyed at the costs. I want cremated and everyone can order a nice catered meal at home to celebrate. I much prefer the at home celebration compared to the mass, wake or funeral.

[Anonymous]

I am Italian American.

We have wakes at one of two funeral parlors, which means every wake brings back generations and decades of memories from previous wakes.

The doors close for the Rosary, and once you're stuck in there, you have to stay through the entire Rosary. LoL.

For elderly people who die of natural causes, wakes can be rather high spirited occasions with people laughing in the halls. Coffee and donuts always served in the basement.

Try paying respects to a deceased relative by kissing a cheek goodbye. As a child, I was never afraid of that. Maybe it helps to have closure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Jewish and I don't get a lot of things Christians do with dead bodies. Embalming them, dressing them, viewing them, keeping them above ground for days. I might be hanging out in a hut with a giant ass lemon, but y'all are weird.

Ha. Happy Sukkot, PP.

[Anonymous]

They are horrible and I don’t go to them unless it is very close family or friends, and even then I do not go anywhere near the casket, or even in the room if I can help it.

Appalling and totally unnecessary. I think this is a practice that will (pun intended) die out with the older generations.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind them, I like to get one last chance to see the deceased and say goodbye.