I personally find the whole idea of being embalmed and "on display" at your funeral or wake somewhat unsettling. I'm a strong believer in the idea that your body is just an "earth suit" and that once you're dead, that body is not really you anymore, although it still represents what you were in life in some way.
I'm sure the remaining body itself can provide some comfort to those who remain to mourn your death, but to me, once the body is embalmed, it loses some of its sentimentality and just becomes lifeless flesh. Maybe I'll view it all different someday, but for now, I really don't want an open casket someday when I die because I don't think embalmed bodies look in any way natural despite the best efforts of those in that industry.
All this came up because some guy in Puerto Rico expressed that when he died, he wanted to be standing up at his wake, and his family made sure that happened. The photos are amazing.
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