<p>I find it creepy. When our good friend passed away last spring, his best friend carried him around, post cremation in a gift bag. He was even " displayed " at our home when we held a gathering in his memory.
I had to fill in for the deceased friend at work since there simply wasn’t anyone else to do it and same friend brought him down to see me a couple of days after his passing. It was actually quite upsetting to deal with, especially since I was working with customers when it occurred</p>
<p>Yeah, The Fabulous Baker Boys came to mind but Michelle probably would look better than I do…
All of this brings to miind “Weekend at Bernies”…</p>
<p>Gulp. So sorry I read this thread, but I have to confess I read every post. For the record, I just want to be respectfully buried or cremated (survivors’ choice), but no viewing. Now, back to my originally scheduled life…</p>
<p>I don’t mind being cremated but don’t put me in a gift bag to make the rounds…</p>
<p>The only thing I’ve seen that was unusual to me was: On the floor by the casket was a bag of all the things the deceased liked, potato chips, other snacks, etc. There was a video playing on one side of the room on a tv, of pictures of her life that her daughter and grandchildren had arranged. It gave the family comfort as it had been a very sudden and unexpected death. Different, but maybe that’s what is done now? I haven’t been to any funerals lately, and that was three years ago.</p>
<p>Several years ago, when my then 16 year old daughter’s 17 year boyfriend was killed in an accident, they had a video like that looping continuously at his memorial and some of his favorite things laid out. Also a big board with a picture for people to sign and leave messages. I found it quite comforting, as much as was possible in the midst of such heartbreak.</p>
<p>If there had been anything like the thing that led me to start this thread, it would have been quite horrifying.</p>
<p>oh my God in heaven, no! Creepy and sickening. I’d probably faint if I walked into a funeral parlor and saw something like that. Ewwwww.</p>
<p>you can google about a 24 year old in Puerto Rico embalmed and standing up at his wake. Creepiest thing ever.</p>
<p>I’m also creeped out by those tombstones with the little video player inside that senses when a mourner is visiting the grave, and up pops a video of the dearly departed chatting away. >>>>>>>></p>
<p>No??? OMG.</p>
<p>The Jewish way, pushing up daisies–not always exactly observed: no embalming, no cremation, plain closed box, buried the day after death wearing nothing but a shroud.</p>
<p>Also of note is the do it yourself burial route. Costco, for instance, has a link to coffins on their home page. But for the hard core, you can buy a plain coffin that comes in pieces to be assembled when needed. Some people wash and prepare their own dead for burial. There is no legal requirement to use an undertaker.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/index.php?page=diy-funerals[/url]”>Natural Death Centre .org - Family led & DIY funerals;
<p><a href=“http://www.funeralhelper.org/how-to-diy-a-funeral/diy-funeral-arranger.html[/url]”>http://www.funeralhelper.org/how-to-diy-a-funeral/diy-funeral-arranger.html</a></p>
<p>My mother is keeping my father’s ashes on her closet shelf. She finds it comforting. 
</p>
<p>She told me that she wants to be cremated also. Although she wouldn’t mind having her ashes scattered, she doesn’t think my father would appreciate something so informal, so she wants them both to be put together in a columbarium or the like.</p>
<p>If you really think about it, most rituals surrounding death are disturbing. I would NOT like to be dressed up for display in an expensive piece of furniture to be buried in the ground, on a plot of land where my relatives may or may not come to visit. I can’t see the point…I would prefer to be cremated , but where to put my ashes ?
There is a growing trend in my area for a plain pine box , buried in the woods, but that doesn’t quite sit well with me either. I have mediocre feelings for the ocean I grew up around. Certainly not enough to warrant a permit to scatter my remains. I am not a mountain person…this is something I need to comemplate</p>
<p>:eek: Human taxidermy - oh my! I find most (ie located outside of museums of natural history) animal taxidermy creepy. Human - no thanks. </p>
<p>The display of the favorite things reminds me of the ancient burials where the dead was supplied with necessities for the use in the underworld.</p>
<p>I conducted a funeral a few months ago where the deceased was laid out on a “reposing couch” instead of in a casket. It was very bizarre. </p>
<p>I prefer closed caskets during the service, but often they are open per the family’s request. The only time I insisted that it be closed was when I was 8 months pregnant and had to do a funeral for a woman who died from complications of childbirth. I’d never met her (daughter of a parish member) and couldn’t handle looking at her - I had to distance myself emotionally as much as possible to get through the service.</p>
<p>I keep saying just throw me in the woods. That’s probably not going to happen, so I’m leaning toward those green burial grounds which are no chemicals and just wooden coffin, I think. I abhor open coffins, though they’re the expected thing at almost every funeral I’ve ever been at, except in my own family. Yuck.</p>
<p>I’ve seen people buried in various uniforms (including a Boy Scout leader uniform), but never posing. I kind of like it though–you could have your arm wired to wave goodbye.</p>
<p>I have seen the “favorite things” type of display at a young person’s funeral. I think that some of the friends actually brought things to the funeral to add to the display. It was very
personal and gave a nice snapshot of the personality of the deceased.</p>
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<p>Is this and some of the other bizarre descriptions here really indicative of a true “trend”?</p>
<p>As to open caskets, I attended a funeral recently in which the deceased was placed in an open casket at the front of the church before the actual service. People could either come look or remain seated. Then there was a rosary, after which the family approached the casket and said goodbye. After that, the funeral director closed the casket. Ten minutes or so later, the service began. I did not approach the casket, but I could easily see my deceased friend from my seat. He had died over a week prior, and I was truly horrified. He looked gray, pinched, NOTHING like I remembered him. I had thought his illness had completely and heartbreakingly decimated him, but this was just beyond the pale. </p>
<p>After the service ended, someone in my vicinity commented, “Didn’t he look good? I thought he looked really good.” I wanted to shriek, “Are you freaking kidding?!?!?”</p>
<p>NO OPEN CASKET for me or I will haunt DH to the end of his days. :(</p>
<p>
Creepy. This sort of reminds me of old post-mortem photos where a person has his picture taken with a deceased loved one. I saw it in a horror movie I just cant remember which one.</p>
<p>Picture taken with deceased loved one…well, my 91 year old dad wasn’t able to attend the funeral of his 93 year old brother. So I went in his stead. And he appreciated all the photos of the casket, open casket viewing, funeral that we were able to provide. It seemed morbid to me somewhat and I felt weird taking pictures but he hadn’t seen his brother in many, many years and in some way it provided closure and comfort to him. Funerals are for the living.</p>