Open casket wakes are unsettling, amirite?

When my sister was in high school, one of her friends died in a car crash. There was a fire involved, so they opted for a closed casket. One thing I remember was how many of the high school kids didn't believe he was in the casket. They refused to believe he was gone. So, for some people, seeing the body is a way of getting closure. Understanding that the person is gone

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Yep, been to a few and none were great. Really not how I want to remember seeing them for the last time.

by MapGreedy 3 hours ago

Don't have an open casket. To me it wasn't how they look, but how utterly cold they are. Yes, I touched my sister's cheek. I didn't know anything could be that cold.

by Common-Mastodon 3 hours ago

It's to provide closure. You will understand when you lose someone very close to you. If you're not close to the person, it can seem eerie and odd.

by rolfsonimmanuel 3 hours ago

In Ireland the coffin is always open for the wake. We don't take any notice of it. If the person was in some terrible accident or something I assume it would be closed, but I've never been to a wake with a closed coffin.

by juwan45 3 hours ago

Not unpopular. Open caskets can be f'ing gruesome, especially when someone had died of something like cancer. It's horrific for family members to see their loved one like that when the memories should be of a better time.

by mac17 3 hours ago

I think it's less to do with the open casket and more about the platitudes people say to themselves at a funeral.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

I used to agree. Now I think it provides closure to people. Some people don't actually accept that someone is dead until they see their body. It's for those types of people.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

I didn't know people still did this. But...I don't attend things like that.

by neoma05 2 hours ago

When I was a child, my cat died. My mom buried it before I got to say goodbye, and I never really got over it.

by Russellmayert 2 hours ago

Definitely prefer closed.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

I think some people need to have those last moments. They're not for me and I usually skip the viewings. My ex in-laws had pictures they kept on hand/on display of their diseased loved ones in their caskets. No thank you. Just cremate me or give my body to a medical school or something. There is no need for that. I'll be dead, I won't be there to care. I do respect people who want a casket and to be buried.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago