Do you want to be embalmed and viewed by your family and friends after your pass on?

Question

Well, I was born and raised in Asia, where the viewing of deceased people is kinda a taboo. But I notice that here in the western atmosphere, it's not uncommon to have open-casket viewings in funerals. To be frank, not all bodies look good after embalming...So i am asking if you want to have your body embalmed and viewed by your love ones and the public after you die? And, what's the significance of open-casket viewing?

Answer 1

I want to be embalmed but only be viewed by my immediate family to give them closure. I know how important that is since one of my brothers died and was exposed to the elements for several days and couldn't be viewed. You always wonder somehow if there was a mistake made.....

Answer 2

I do not want to be viewed when I die, I just want to be cremated and have a memorial visitation. The reason for the open casket viewing is for the family to have closure, as humans we have to see to believe and then let it go. I work in a funeral home and see it all the time. Personally I think it is a strange custom and when you see how a body is embalmed that would keep you away from the open casket idea.

Answer 3

No, I will be cremated. I'm told that the open-casket is for the purpose of a final goodbye to the loved one. Can't say as I agree, though. I think goodbyes should be done within the heart. And, memories should left unstained; not tainted with the memory of the embalmed body.

Answer 4

I dont want to be embalmed I want a closed casket so everyone can remember me the way I was when I was alive

Answer 5

It's more common in America. We don't do it much in the UK - very rare indeed.

If I was going to be embalmed for viewing I'd stipulate that I wanted a big open-mouth grin and wide open eyes. Jazz hands too, perhaps.

Fortunately for my family, I'm not going to be embalmed.

Answer 6

Traditionally the open casket is to give people a feeling of closure, to see that person one last time.

Personally I'd rather be cremated right away than pumped full of preservatives and covered with makeup.

Answer 7

Nope; I'm Jewish, and we believe in burying the dead in a plain wood casket with no metal parts, and no embalming. We have closed-casket funerals, and prefer to remember the dead as they were in life.

Answer 8

No. I would rather be cremated and have my ashes placed somewhere that meant something to me. It would place far less of a financial burden on those left behind, and I know they would think of me every time they visited that place. And I would be there with them in a way. I feel like being preserved in a box with a bunch of chemicals is very unnatural. I would rather that my body be broken down into its natural compounds and returned to the cycle of life. A small marker with my name on it might be nice, but not really necessary. And definitely plant a tree there.

Answer 9

No, I want a closed casket!! If my husband survives me, he can decide otherwise. Dead bodies of people I know freak me out and I try to stay away from the casket. I'm not Catholic, but most of my family are, so they would be kissing my dead body and all that.

Answer 10

Well I would prefer to not have my body viewed after death but unfortunately the living seem to need to view the body to accept the reality of death. At least here in America. It helps bring closure. I have heard people say that because they didn't see someones body after death, they always wondered if they were really gone and it seemed to prolong the grief.