8. Some People Today Attend Their Own Funerals
Modern embalming practices have come a long way from the priests of ancient Egypt, who spent 70 days turning a dead body into a mummy. So far, in fact, that some families now opt for a process known as “extreme embalming.” Instead of putting their loved ones into coffins and having a somber service to send them off and begin the process of rebuilding their lives, the person’s body is displayed in death much as it would have been in life. The corpse may be positioned on a chair with his or her favorite things, like a PlayStation controller, a drum set, or a bag of cookies. By many accounts, the person seems to be present at his or her own funeral.
Families who opt for extreme embalming see it as a means of honoring the person’s life in a fun-loving fashion. In doing so, they can ensure that they remember the dead as they indeed were in life rather than as a lifeless body in a casket. However, because much of the religious tradition is stripped of the service, many people have a hard time accepting this unique means of sending a loved one off and are even offended by it.
