Not only are cremations selected because they are less expensive than traditional burials, some prefer them for the ease in spreading the ashes later and the convenience in incorporating cremated remains or cremains, as they are called, into death rituals. Sometimes families are allowed to be present at cremations and incorporate religious practices. Most religions accept cremations and permit the cremains at memorial services.
Cremains are often stored by families who keep them in urns that vary in their uniqueness. These may include such containers as vases with pedestals or even personalized teddy bears with hidden pouches. Among other uses, cremains of loved ones are being used in jewelry, shotgun shells, and fireworks. In terms of other destinations, cremains can be stored in a cemetery plot, mausoleum, or scattered in a garden or a body of water. For $5,300 cremains can be sent aloft into outer space, while $13,000 can send them into luna orbit. With so many choices available, everyone should make plans regarding disposal of their bodies. What will happen to your body after death?
In this video, funeral director Elisa Krcilek explains the cremation process.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble Internet stores.
Thanks for this informative post about cremation. We've noticed a trend, too, in more and more people opting for cremation over traditional burial services. http://bit.ly/9veGC0 Not only is it the less expensive option, but we've also found that cremation can help families through the grieving process, as the act of scattering a loved one's ashes can provide a sense of closure.
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