Cremation – How to Honor the Memories of Your Loved Ones in a Green Way

Cremation services are some of the largest ceremonies carried out after death around the world. In many Hindu cultures, entire villages show up for public cremation ceremonies in which the body is placed on heavily structured and decorated alters. A fire is ignited and the structure is totally engulfed in flames. In Bali, Indonesia, companies organize cremation services for western tourists, who flock to these events to experience this ritual.
Believe it or not, cremation is chosen by over 40% of Americans. However, many of those, who choose cremation, do it for economic reasons, instead of environmental, sentimental or religious choices. According to the Funeral and Memorial Information Council, cost was the factor in one third of the 858 adults that were surveyed in 2010.
Nevada leads the nation with 73% of its state inhabitants choosing cremation, while Mississippi cremates only 13% of its population.Cremation is becoming more acceptable to Americans as an alternative to funeral home or traditional funerals and burials. However, trying to organize one is difficult if you don’t plan it in advance.
 

What is a Cremation?

 
A cremation is done at a crematorium, a funeral home, or in some instances, it is performed in special churches.Cremation is a process in which the remains are placed in a furnace and exposed to temperatures that can reach 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Normally, within two to three hours, there will only be ash and bone fragments remaining. Once the furnace has cooled, bone fragments are collected and separated from any metal that might have been inside of the body. The bones are then placed in a machine that grinds them down into powder, and these are the ashes that loved ones receive.
 

Benefits – Cremation vs. Funeral

 
Cremation is much cheaper than traditional funerals. You can expect to pay an average of ten percent of traditional funeral fees. The unstable financial times that we face these days, tends to make cremation a smart choice for many families. Another benefit of cremation is that itís much better for our environment. The chemicals that are used in a traditional funeral are not present in a cremation. You also don’t have the metal from the caskets leaking contaminants into the soil.
Regardless if it’s about costs or the environment, the numbers of cremations are increasing every year.Direct CremationsA direct cremation can cost as little as six to seven hundred dollars. Direct cremation involves moving the body directly to a crematory or funeral home for cremation. You are saving more money, because you eliminate the costs of preparing the body for visitation at a funeral home.
A direct cremation normally works like this:

• Body is taken from the place of death to a crematory or funeral home
• Fill out the proper forms and get the permits needed
• The body is placed in a cremation chamber (retort) and the cremation takes place
• The ashes are then sent back to the family*  The family then decides where the ashes should be placed

Planning Cremation Ideas Ahead

 
When we lose our loved ones, planning a funeral is definitely one of the most difficult moments of our lives. The last thing on our minds is planning some type of memorial that long lives in our hearts and minds.
Before you start making plans for cremation services, or other services at a funeral home, you should learn about the rules and regulations for cremation in your state. Crematoriums and funeral homes have specific rules about cremations that are set to protect the public and the bodies of the deceased. Plan in advance and understand what you will need to prepare a cremation.
 

Cremation Services and Ideas

 
Once the cremation has been performed, you need to think about what you are going to do with the ashes. Where are you going to store them? Are you planning on making a memorial for your loved one? You can make a simple or an extravagant choice. As long as you are doing something that your beloved family member would have wanted, you are showing them the utmost respect.
Here are a couple of popular ideas:
Funeral Home and Cremation – If you don’t mind paying the extra costs, you can have a public viewing before cremating the body. This is done to allow family members and friends to see loved ones for the last time. For this to happen, the body needs to be prepared with embalming fluids for health and safety reasons if it is an open casket viewing.You can rent a casket for the occasion, and have the body moved to a biodegradable casket after the services are complete.
Traditional Urns – For those, who want to keep with tradition, you can purchase urns in various shapes, sizes and material. The majority of urns are made from ceramic, glass or wood. For protection against breakage, it’s better to use urns that are made from hardwood, or stone.
Cremation Jewelry – Cremation jewelry has personal memories for those, who wear one. Even though your loved one is gone, you can still have a small part of them close to you in the form of specially designed necklace, shaped like a heart or other form. Cremation jewelry can come in bracelets, earrings and even placed in diamonds and other fine stones.
Green Burials – During a green burial, the cremated remains are dispersed in biodegradable urns. You can also go one step further by not using an urn at all, and just deposit the remains directly into the soil. However, if you are placing the remains in a cemetery, you need to check their regulations. Some cemeteries require that cremation remains must be kept inside an urn when buried.
The Neptune Society – The Neptune Memorial Reef is an environmentally friendly green burial site. Once completed, this reef will be the largest man-made reef in the world. At 40 feet beneath the surface, memorials are built for families, so their memories can live on forever. The reef has brought many fish species back to this ocean area, which is located a few miles off the Miami coast. It is a popular spot for snorkelers and divers, too. Many family members get their diving licenses just to be able to personally visit their loved ones memorials.
 

Cremation – Conclusion

 
The way you wish to remember a loved one after cremation is up to you and your family. The important thing to know is that this is a very popular option for burial in 2015 and beyond. Cremations will become even more popular in the years to come.