Viewing (funeral) 2798319 220944771 2008-06-22T09:58:13Z Booglamay 5069051 who? {{for|other types of viewings|View}} [[Image:Viewing (museum display).JPG|thumb|right|Viewing (museum display)<br>[[Museum of Funeral Customs]]]] In [[funeral]] services, a '''viewing''' (sometimes called reviewal, [[Funeral#Visitation|funeral visitation]] or a [[wake (ceremony)|wake]] in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]) is the time that the family and friends come to see the deceased after they have been prepared by a funeral home.[http://www.mywhatever.com/cifwriter/library/mortals/mor13206.html] Most bodies that are viewed in the [[Western world]] are [[Embalming|embalmed]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. A viewing may take place at the funeral parlour, in a family home or at a [[church]] or [[chapel]] prior to the actual funeral service. Some cultures, such as the [[Māori]] of [[New Zealand]], often take the body to the [[Marae]] or tribal community hall.[http://www.griefcare.org.nz/options/tangi.html] Viewing is sometimes combined with a celebration of the deceased's life called a [[Wake (ceremony)|wake]] although in some places the term wake is interchangeable with viewing. Many authorities{{who?}} consider the viewing important to the [[grief|grieving]] process as it gives a chance to say goodbye on a personal level. It also can make it easier to accept the reality of the death, which can often seem unreal especially in the industrial world where death is handled by professionals and the family may only know of a death through phone calls rather than experiencing it as it occurs.[http://www.funerals.org/faq/visit.htm] ==See also== *[[Funeral]] [[Category:Death customs]] [[Category:Undertaking]] ==External links== *[http://dying.about.com/b/a/000098.htm Amish traditions] *[http://chnm.gmu.edu/greekam/death_frame.html Greek American traditions] *[http://entertaining.about.com/cs/etiquette/a/funeraletiquett.htm Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions]