Open casket funerals are kind of weird if you think about it anyway.

They’re the done thing where I live, but only for the wake (night before the funeral mass).

“Ah he looks great” and “Ah sure they did a great job, didn’t they?” etc. always gets trotted out.

It’s kinda nice to see someone for the last time who you may not have seen recently. But I can definitely understand the opposing view (sometimes they look bloody awful). The body is stored the night before either in a funeral home or at the house and you’re not in any way obliged to go into the room with the deceased if it’s not your thing.

Funerals here are done very quickly. Wake would typically be two days following death, mass and burial the following morning. Casket is always closed here at the actual funeral.

In my father’s case we had his body in our home (my mum’s choice) and everyone did their little visit. After everyone had finished and gone we all went to the pub and had pints and told fun stories until all hours. The pub served us well past closing.

My hangover the next day was unholy (pun intended) but it was a great night and a really nice send off.