So this is one of those cultural observations that you don't get on a cursory glance at a country. It's a bit morbid, so maybe skip this one if you're having a bad day, okay?
I was shocked to learn that at least two of my Australian friends over the age of, say, 27, had never seen a dead body. Although I've only seen them in caskets, I've seen several at various funerals. Upon pressing further, I learned that Australian funerals rarely include a body or a casket as most Australians nowadays are cremated.
Americans usually have a viewing (open casket) for about 4 hours (a "drop in when you can" sort of event) followed either that day or the next by a funeral service (closed casket in front of church). Immediately after the funeral, the pallbearers take the casket to the hearse and the family and close friends then proceed to the cemetery. (In a motorcade of usually purple-flagged cars with their hazards on.)
Thus, while I would find it difficult to grieve without a body, my Australian friends would find it strange to see one.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
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In some ways we Aussies are insulated from death by not seeing the body. Christ's death became more 'real' for me after seeing the body of a friend at an open-casket pre-funeral viewing evening. That was 8 years ago.
Interestingly enough, said friend had been part Maori so there were professional wailing women at the pre-funeral evening. It brought more meaning to those customs mentioned in the Bible that we don't have. And I tell you, nothing helps a stiff-lipped westerner let go like wailing women.
I wonder if drivers would take less risks if, at the funeral of a friend killed in an accident, they saw the body - but depending on the violence of the accident that may be completely unpalatable.
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