Why do families have open casket

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a culture somewhere ( Malaysia or Indonesia? ) where once a year they bring out all the dead relatives to hang out with for a few days. They put plates of food in front of them, then put them back (I don't recall where the bodies spend the rest of the time).

I think I also saw this doc

[Anonymous]

To show they are really dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was invented as a ploy for funeral homes to make more money.

Don't fall for it. It's not a tradition in any way, shape or form.

I'm 20:36. For family only, we were able to see the body in the casket without embalming. I believe there was a prep fee, but it wasn't as expensive as embalming and I'm not sure what "extra" was done vs. just leaving the casket closed or if it cost more than that would have anyway, other than giving us a time to show up and a nice parlor room.

Obviously the whole casket/vault/plot, etc. is more expensive than cremation, but this was not a person who wished to be cremated in any case, so that was already being paid.

NP. The prep fee in this circumstance is to sew the mouth shut so it's not hanging open.

We had a similar viewing without embalming when my FIL died unexpectedly under tragic circumstances and it brought a lot of closure to my husband to see his dad one last time.

[Anonymous]

My mom says she needs the "closure." Whatever that means. 🙄

[Anonymous]

The father in the old Six Feet Under series said something about making the decedent look nice so his family and friends could say goodbye. I think that’s a big motivator. My mother’s casket was open at the viewing. My father said open for immediate family, closed after, so that’s what we did. People were disappointed.

[Anonymous]

Didn't people used to lay out the body for viewing in their homes before burial, before there were funeral homes, etc.? And there would be a wake at that time or visitors to the family. It may be a vestige of practices like this. Parents took photos of their dead children in memory of them. I heard that about great-grandparents, a story about two children who had died and were laid out in the living room. I assumed it meant for visitation before burial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Viewings? It’s so macabre

Mrs. Kennedy said let the world see what they have done. But this was about her blood-stained dress. They did have a closed casket.

My sister tried to put a letter into my dad’s casket until my mother screamed at her. I’m 99% sure my sister went back and added the letter.

AFAIK, dead bodies can’t read letters. People are weird, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Viewings? It’s so macabre

We do it so that closed minded bigots who think their culture is the superior one can gloat on the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are all so culturally and historically ignorant. Try reading up on social and religious practices before posting your ignorance here.

Who died and made you the boss?

People are asking.

When my parent died it made me the boss of their funeral.

[Anonymous]

OP, why do you care how other families choose to honor, remember, or say good bye to their loved ones? If something helps people while they are grieving, why should it matter to others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Viewings? It’s so macabre

Catholics love this (I'm formerly Catholic) and I've never understood it.

We went to Rome last year and they have a few of the canonized Popes on display in glass coffins, coated in wax. And it's grotesque.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they're going out of favor.

I think this is right. I grew up Catholic (PP here) and most of the younger generations don't favor this. Even my Boomer mom said no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's religion specific. In Judaism I have never once seen or heard of anyone having an open casket.

No, there is nothing in Christianity that says we need to look at the dead person's face during their funeral. It's a recent invention by funeral homes in the west.

One side of my family is Japanese. The Japanese Buddhist tradition after the partial cremation is to use a ceremonial pair of chopsticks to select the larger bones that haven't been turned into dust and placing them reverently in a funeral urn. I did this for my grandfather.

Between the two traditions, I find picking out bones infinitely less disturbing than looking at an embalmed person's face!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a culture somewhere ( Malaysia or Indonesia? ) where once a year they bring out all the dead relatives to hang out with for a few days. They put plates of food in front of them, then put them back (I don't recall where the bodies spend the rest of the time).

In certain parts of Mexico, they exhume the bones and clean them during the Day of the Dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's religion specific. In Judaism I have never once seen or heard of anyone having an open casket.

No, there is nothing in Christianity that says we need to look at the dead person's face during their funeral. It's a recent invention by funeral homes in the west.

I don’t think PP was saying the Bible tells us we have to have open casket funerals, but they’re much more common in some denominations than others. My mom’s family is Episcopalian and no one had an open casket, whereas my Dad’s family is Lutheran and my DH’s is Catholic and open caskets are much more common.