While many people in the United States may not think it is a strange custom, embalming the dead sets the US apart from many other countries’ death rituals.
While I hold nothing against the people who do, I can’t help but wonder if there is a specific personality type amongst people that makes them more comfortable and interested in working with dead bodies.
I never questioned the custom of embalming bodies while I was growing up, but now it would be my least preferred way of going into the next life/being honored.
It is interesting to get a glimpse into how it all came about.