# Which countries do open casket funerals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2002, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251 "2002-12-17T04:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/21 "2002-12-19T01:06:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KarlGrenze \* > \*\*Same as JRD’s… 🙂 \*\* There’s something too subtle there for me. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/22 "2002-12-19T02:47:28Z")
Read JRDelirious post… When he writes “Puerto Rico”…that’s where I’m from. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/23 "2002-12-19T02:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > \*\*I’m suprised by **Motog** ’s post. I don’t doubt it, I’m just surprised. > > I’ve never even heard of the viewing practice here. \*\* Although my member description says I’m currently in Melbourne, I’m a born and bred Sydney-sider. My brother’s funeral was in Sydney and my friend’s one was in Canberra - just in case you were wondering if this was a Melbourne thing. In the case of my brother, I and my other brother had the unhappy task of organising his funeral. The funeral director asked us if we wanted to view him. We said no but enquired of other members of my family. We did not offer the opportunity to anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/24 "2002-12-19T03:36:38Z")
Episcopalian, Maryland native. Open coffin funerals for adults and children, plus viewings (viewings in our family used to be three days, now it’s usually just one day, and rarely anymore; last viewing and open coffin funeral I went to was four years ago). This stuff depends of course on the wishes of the family, but that’s been my experience. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/25 "2002-12-19T06:32:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RiverRunner \* > **Open-casket funerals are fairly common here in the southern U.S. (Well, actually, funerals aren’t usually open-casket, but funeral-home visitation often is.) It isn’t so much a religious thing as cultural and historical.** I’ve only been to one open-casket funeral here in Mississippi. Instead of calling it a “Wake”, we simply refer to the visitation at the funeral home as part of the funeral, thus the open-casket funeral. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/26 "2002-12-19T06:56:17Z")
**Motog** , I wondered about the “sudden accident” statement in your first post. Now I think I understand. In (probably) all of the funerals I’ve attended, the person had died after a lengthy illness. Most of the friends and relations had already made their farewells at the hospital while the person was still living. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/27 "2002-12-19T07:47:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Motog \* > \*\*Australian with Catholic background checking in: I’ve never been to an open casket funeral here. However, when my brother died the funeral director offered a “viewing” at the funeral home. His widow accepted as did my sister. My other brother and I both declined. > > I recall also that a viewing was offered when a friend died a number of years ago. > > In both these instances, the death had been the result of a sudden accident. > > I don’t recall whether there was a viewing when my grandmother died. If there was I didn’t attend. \*\* My then-boyfriend’s mother died of cancer in 1997. There was a private viewing - the only ones who were invited were her husband and her two adult children (but she had no other blood family in Australia anyway). The funeral director made the suggestion, it was something the family hadn’t thought of doing until he mentioned it. They are not Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/28 "2002-12-19T08:26:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > \*\*I’m suprised by **Motog** ’s post. I don’t doubt it, I’m just surprised. > > I’ve never even heard of the viewing practice here. \*\* Another Australian checking in. When my mother died, there was a “viewing” at the funeral home, where I got to see her body in the casket. There was a see-through white gauzy material covering her open casket. The viewing was followed a couple days later by a funeral at the cemetary chapel. The casket was closed for the funeral itself. Similar to **Motog’s** experience I guess, but we are not Catholic. (BTW, I understand the idea behind “viewings”, but it was nonetheless a truly horrific experience. :() * * * BTW, on the show _Six Feet Under_, they always seem to have open casket funerals, even if it requires extensive reconstruction of the deceased’s body (leading to much comic relief, as you can imagine). ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/29 "2002-12-19T08:30:43Z")
[Aside] **cazzle** : wow, 1997 huh? Sheesh, what a coincidence – your description of your ex’s mother’s funeral AND family situation exactly match mine (except I was younger). I’m pretty sure we weren’t going out though. 😉 [/Aside] ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/30 "2002-12-19T09:13:53Z")
Well, I stand amazed. I can’t believe that I’ve lived as long as I have without _ever having heard about this_. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/31 "2002-12-19T13:55:32Z")
Open-casket viewings are the default style of funeral in the New Orleans area – I’ve never been to any other kind. Wakes are commonly held the day before as well, so that the deceased is actually presented twice before funeral services and burial. I think those tracing the origins of open-casket viewings/wakes to Catholic or Eastern Orthodox traditions are on the right track. Within this thread, we’ve seen testimony of open-casket viewings from traditionally Catholic areas such as Ireland, France, Puerto Rico, and now, French-and-Spanish-influenced New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/32 "2002-12-19T16:24:47Z")
I thought I’d chime in again. In Boston, the open casket wake is usually MORE public than the funeral, for non-celebrities. For everyone that I’ve known that’s died, far more people showed up at the funeral home for the wake than showed up at the church the next day for the funeral. When I see a listing in the paper for someone I sort of know, I’ll say “Well, I’ll go to the wake, but not the funeral.” ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251/33 "2002-12-20T22:33:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narrad \* > \*\*[Aside] > > **cazzle** : wow, 1997 huh? Sheesh, what a coincidence – your description of your ex’s mother’s funeral AND family situation exactly match mine (except I was younger). > > I’m pretty sure we weren’t going out though. 😉 > > [/Aside] \*\* Yikes! Please tell me you’re not a half-German, half-Finnish sociopath named Ralph!! Seriously, am very sorry to hear of your loss. Sitting in the observation chair with the family I mentioned, I saw firsthand how horrible cancer is, and I grieved deeply over the death of a woman who was beautiful through to the soul. It’s a sad co-incidence to share. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-countries-do-open-casket-funerals/143251.md?page=1)