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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s a Catholic thing, I come from a large Catholic family and the majority of viewings/visitations at the funeral home that I’ve been to have been open casket. Whereas when I’ve been to non-denominational, Protestant, etc. funeral homes, it’s been a pretty even mix of open, closed, and the person was cremated so it’s just a picture on display and their urn. I do agree it can be uncomfortable if you’re not familiar with it/didn’t grow up that way. [/quote]

+1 - Catholic (Irish-Slovak) and I was raised going to open casket funerals on both sides of the family and think it is a natural part of saying goodbye. There is a "Derry Girls" episode that deals with Catholic vs Protestant take on the viewing/open casket that is pretty funny, and true. I can appreciate that it makes people uncomfortable, we have family members that touch the body and I have never done that but do pray in front of the open casket.

It's also interesting to see what people wanted or their families chose for them to wear in the coffin. My dad died in July (I was a teenager so years ago) and my mom, brothers and I decided he should wear his Santa tie because he loved Christmas. It was meaningful to us and probably brought us a small bit of joy to a terrible time but there probably were a few people who paused at the coffin and thought that was an odd choice.

The viewing ends with the priest or funeral director asking for the immediate family or close friends (you know if you are in this chosen group) to stay and then you have some privacy to grieve together as a small group, or say goodbye. Then they close the casket and you go to the church together, then the cemetery for the burial. It's highly ritualized and my DH and I have said it provides a way to grieve, unlike his parents who donated their bodies to science and didn't have any service, wake or funeral. We actually found that more challenging. [/quote]

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