For Religious Groups

Anglican

• embalming is optional

• a viewing or vigil may be held; if so, your casket may be open or closed

• your body may be cremated either before or after the funeral

• a funeral may be held at a funeral home or a church

• a funeral may be held with your body absent or present (closed casket)

This website has a more detailed description.

Other Protestant Christian groups have similar customs.

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Buddhist

• embalming is discouraged

• your body is left undisturbed for three days

• cremation is typical

• your ashes are buried, scattered, or stored at home

• memorial services are held after 3, 7, 49, and 100 days

This website has a more detailed description.

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Catholic

• embalming is optional

• a vigil or wake is held at a home, a funeral home, or a church, with your body present

• a funeral is held in a church within three days (but not on a Sunday or a holy day), with your body present and casket closed

• your body may be cremated after the funeral (but alkaline hydrolysis is discouraged)

• your body may be buried or placed in a mausoleum

• your ashes may be buried or placed in a columbarium niche, but cannot be divided, stored at home, or scattered

This website has a more detailed description.

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Hindu

• embalming is not typical

• cremation is standard; it is done prior to the dusk following your death

• there may be a viewing before cremation

• your ashes are scattered

This website has a more detailed description.

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Jewish (Orthodox)

• embalming is not permitted

• cremation is not permitted

• you are buried within 24 hours in a Jewish cemetery

• your body does not have a viewing

• your body is covered in a plain white shroud

• your casket is made of untreated wood, with no metal parts

• a funeral may be at a funeral home, synagogue, or gravesite

• you are buried in the earth, not a mausoleum

This website has a more detailed description.

This video illustrates how the body is prepared.

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Muslim

• embalming is not permitted

• cremation is not permitted

• you should be buried as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours

• your body does not have a viewing

• it is taken to a mosque, then to the cemetery

• you can be buried in any cemetery

• your grave is dug perpendicular to the direction toward the Qibla in Mecca

• for burial, you are wrapped in sheets, without a casket

• when buried, you lie on your right side, facing Mecca

This website has a more detailed description.

This video from Australia illustrates the process.

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Sikh

• embalming is not typical

• cremation is standard; burial is also possible

• your body goes to a place of worship, then to a crematorium

• if your body is buried, there is no marker

• ashes may be scattered into flowing water, such as a river or ocean

This website has a more detailed description.