Cremation Over Burial

You might not want to begin thinking about the final phases of life, but it's important to make at least one decision so that your family is not left with the responsibility. Choosing the kind of burial that you desire is something that you should handle. Cremation is an option that has several benefits. There are cremation packages available at most funeral homes. These packages often include the cost of the cremation, small booklets announcing the date of death and the memorial plans and a container for the ashes.

Cremation is an option if you don't have a lot of money to spend on a funeral or if you don't want to spend a large amount of money on a casket. There are urns that have elegant details that cost a fraction of the price of a casket. There won't be any costs associated with opening the grave and getting a headstone. There are some options with a cremation service that can become expensive, but most of the time, this is a choice that is affordable for any budget.

Cremation As An Option

If you have lost a loved one with no time to prepare a funeral, then cremation might be an option. There are advantages to cremation services that you might not think about beforehand. It is something that is less expensive than a funeral. Most funeral homes will let you have a casket at a memorial service so that family and friends can have something that is similar to a funeral. The urn can be placed near the casket, or you can choose to leave the urn on a table with pictures of the person around the urn.

Some families might not have a plot at a cemetery yet. When someone is cremated, the urn can be placed almost anywhere. The ashes can be scattered at a favorite place the person used to visit, or the urn can be placed somewhere in the home of the person's child or the home of the spouse. There is also the option of placing the urn in a vault that is in a mausoleum. Cremation is an option if you want to keep the person with you after death. It can often help with the healing process after the person passes away. Contact us for more information about services offered.

Military Veterans Burial

Most families that do cremation on-line or seek assistance for cremation from a funeral home are not aware of veteran benefits offered after cremation. The often-used term "Final Disposition" is not exactly the case after cremation of a veteran. Military veterans often receive special treatment in their respective countries due to the sacrifices they made during wars. Different countries handle this differently, some openly support veterans through government programs and others ignoring them.


Photo: zimbio.com

War veterans are generally treated with great respect and honor for their contribution to the world and country by their own nationals. Conversely there are often negative feelings towards the veterans of alien nations held long after the war is over, for example towards the German Nazi soldiers, but they are no less veterans of war than those of the winning side. There are exceptions.

Cremation And The Wandering Jews

By Dr. Mel Glazer

As every Jew knows, cremation is a no-no. That having been said, lots and lots of Jews are requesting that they be cremated. Why all of a sudden? What happened to the post-Holocaust cringe when thinking about yet another burned Jewish body? As a Conservative Rabbi, I will not officiate at the funeral of a congregant which is followed with cremation. I will, however, officiate at such a funeral for a non-congregant. It's tough out there in the vineyards of the Lord, and difficult to be either consistent or resistant to the growing wishes of the hordes when they insist on cremation. Most Reform Rabbis will officiate without condition at funerals followed by cremation.

I firmly believe that the cemetery is the place where Jewish bodies should be buried, and not so much for halachic reasons, but for grief recovery reasons. You see, when someone dies, we are left with all sorts of emotions--grief, sadness, incompleteness, shock, disjointedness, numbness, blame and even anger. And it hurts so much. We need to complete our relationship with those who have died, so that our relationship with them can "rest in peace." So often the cemetery serves as the healing venue.

When we can go spend private time next to Momma's grave and apologize to her for whatever we might have done to hurt her, and forgive her for whatever she might have done to hurt us, the cemetery becomes a holy place for us. What do we do if there is no burial in a cemetery, or if the ashes are scattered to the winds? In that case, healing is much more difficult, since there is no physical place to assist us in our efforts. For this reason, halacha supports emotional truth, as it usually does. We need to "lay them gently down," and we can do that best in the cemetery by their grave.
http://www.yourgriefmatters.com/

Cremation: A Sometimes Difficult Subject

By DA Roth

Cremation of Ones Remains is Not an Appealing Topic, But it’s an Important One, Both Financially And From a Family Standpoint. A Little Knowledge Will go a Long Way to Help You And Your Family Members to Understand What Everyone’s Preferences Are.

Today, about a quarter of all deaths in the United States are followed by cremation. A new national survey indicates forty six percent of Americans plan to choose cremation, up fifteen percent from 1990. In some states, the choice of cremation is rising very rapidly.

About thirty percent of those choosing cremation state that they do it to save money; fourteen percent because it is simpler, less emotional, and more convenient; about the same percentage state that they want to save land. One benefit is that one’s remains may be scattered in a place or places that have special meaning, the ocean, mountains, or a memorial garden, among others.

A little over half of the respondents choosing cremation in the survey stated that they would most likely purchase a cremation urn.

• About forty percent would chose scattering of the remains.
• About twenty five percent would place the remains in a cemetery (sixteen percent to bury), (eight percent to a columbarium), (and one percent to a church columbarium).
• Ten percent stated that they would take the inurned remains home.
• Fourteen percent were undecided.
  

With cremation, an expensive casket is not necessary. A simple wood or even cardboard will serve quite well it will be quickly reduced to ashes anyway. Some states allow for no cremation casket at all.

Almost ninety percent of all who choose cremation say they would like some kind of a ceremony. A casket can often be rented if a funeral service is desired prior to cremation, and the remains stored in a Cremation Urn (our business here at Signature Cremation Urns), or a service may be held with the Cremation Urn containing the remains.

A 2004 poll for the National Funeral Directors Association found 62 percent of U.S. adults want personalization at their funerals. The most popular forms cited in the survey included friends relating stories (50 percent), playing favorite music (47 percent) and displaying photos and personal items (42 percent).

Common misperceptions: one cannot have a funeral and then be cremated; their religion does not allow cremation (for example the Catholic Church has allowed cremation since 1965). Some Fundamentalist Christian, Orthodox, and Islamic faiths do not allow cremation.

In other parts of the world, space and ecological considerations have made changes to our normally accepted practices for burial and cremation of remains.

A cemetery in Victoria state in Australia has begun an innovative way to bury the dead in an environmental friendly and inexpensive way; an alternative to cremation. This is “standing room only” for those who choose to be buried in this unique cemetery.

The deceased are placed in biodegradable body bags instead of the normal caskets, and buried vertically on land that is used for animal grazing. According to the cemetery company the concept is to return to the earth with a minimum of fess and with nothing that would affect the environment. Once the land has stabilized, animals, both domestic and wild would be allowed to graze on it.

In Singapore land is so scarce burial space is recycled so the remains of the dead may be cremated and moved to create more room for the living. The remains of some 18,000 people at the only cemetery open for burial are being exhumed.

The remains are cremated, placed in cremation urns, and placed in niches in a vault or columbarium. In 2006 another 18,000 remains will be exhumed and cremated.

The law in Singapore limits the burial period for the deceased to fifteen years; the result of an environmental program that authorities say will keep the cemetery open for at least sixty more years.

In Korea Cremation as an alternative to direct burial has increased to almost fifty percent. According to the JoongAng Daily an old law in Korea regarding funerals was changed in 2001, establishing a 60 year limit for burial, after which the remains are to be exhumed and cremated. Many remains are now being scattered, and usage of cremation urns is increasing.

Since that time, due to the scarcity of land, and the high costs of burial in Korea, cremation has increased to 47 percent in 2004. Burials average 7000 USD in Korea, while cremation is about a third of that.

With 60 percent of the deaths in Seoul being cremated, there is a scarcity of crematoriums to perform cremations. This has literally resulted in crematoriums turning people away, and it is not unusual to see lines of family members waiting before daylight for the crematorium to open.

When a location for a new crematorium is found in Seoul, the local residents protest, saying pollution and a drop in property values will result-the “NIMBY” statement. There are cases now being taken to the Korean Supreme Court by angered residents.

Cremation In Tibet “Sky Burial”, the traditional burial in Tibet, has been done for several thousand years. According to the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, 80 per cent of Tibetans have traditionally chosen this method of burial but cremation is slowly becoming more accepted.

Sky burial is one of the three principal ways through which the Tibetans traditionally return their dead to the earth. The two others are cremation and water burial.

Though the central government built a modern crematory in Tibet on Oct 17, 2000, very few Tibetans choose cremation. The first Tibetan cremation was carried out on Jan 2, 2001.

Cremation is not currently popular among Tibetans due to thousands of years of tradition. Wood is so scarce in the mountainous areas of Tibet that in the past burning a corpse was reserved for people of stature.

Sky Burial involves an ancient ritual done by special Tibetans, called sky burial operators. There are about 1100 sky burial sites and about 100 of the special sky burial operators. Traditionally, the deceased are specially dissected and left at the sky burial site for vultures, which are worshiped by the locals as sacred.

Sky burial is closely related with Buddhism worshipped in the Himalayan region. Buddhists believe life recycles and advocate kindness and charity. The spirit of the dead is believed to leave the body the moment he dies and the dead should be fed to hungry vultures as a last token of charity.

The largest sky burial site at Drigung Til Monastery receives about 10 bodies on an average every day. The rituals carried out at the 900-year-old monastery are regarded auspicious. The 65-year-old Celha Qoisang formally chief sky burial operator at Drigung Til Monastery stated:” I used to get totally exhausted every day, but I am willing to live like this because sky burial is an important part in Tibetan life”.

He learned the techniques from his uncle and was engaged in the profession for about 10 years. He usually dealt with one to 20 bodies a day. "I could only rest for one day every month, the 19th day each month in the Tibetan calendar. And I usually spent the day reading sutras and praying for the dead.”

According to a Tibetan Buddhist sutra, the divine in heaven get together on the 19th day every month and the mundane are not allowed to kill or let the divine smell blood.

The unique rituals are accepted by the central and regional governments. The regional government bans uninvited outsiders from participating in the rituals and photography is forbidden. These measures are for showing traditional respect to the rituals and the dead.
”Tibetans may choose cremation, but sky burial is still widespread in Tibet”, said Cedain Lhunzhub, head of the Xishan Crematory in Tibet. A young Tibetan in his 20s, stated: "In fact, burials are not that important after human beings' death, and we Tibetans prefer sky burial because it contains Tibetans' compassion and belief. I would certainly choose sky burial after my death, though I am not a Buddhist believer,"

Although cremation is slowly making inroads, the Tibetans still carry on ancient rituals like sky burials, displaying a timeless adherence to the old ways of life and death, unaffected by the changes that are rapidly affecting the rest of China. It is unknown how the Chinese view cremation among the Tibetans.

We may not be ready in Western culture to do some of the environmentally friendly things mentioned above as an alternative to burial and cremation, but some people in Sweden have come up with a high-tech alternative.

An Environmentally Friendly Alternative to Cremation-A New Swedish Cryogenic Technique
Promessa Organic AB, a Swedish company, located in Jonkoping, a town of 120,000, lies in a religious area of protestant Sweden.

Promessa has developed a technique they call “Promession”. Promessa expects their ecological process will be used to largely replace cremation in Sweden and many parts of Europe. The technique was conceived by a Swedish biologist, Susanne Wiigh-Masak.

“Nature's original plan was that we fall down somewhere in a field and become soil.”
"Since then we have made it really complicated." Susanne Wiigh-Maesak
Simply, Promession is a cryogenic technique where the deceased is not embalmed but is flash frozen to minus 64 Fahrenheit by conventional refrigeration, and then super cooled to minus 385 Fahrenheit by dipping in liquid nitrogen. This is very similar to “freeze drying”, used in many commercial applications.

The frozen, brittle remains are then lightly vibrated at a closely controlled frequency and amplitude, transforming them into an odorless, hygienic organic powder, which is then introduced into a vacuum chamber where the water; of which seventy percent of the human body is composed, is evaporated away.

The dry powder is then processed to remove any metal parts or residue (including mercury, more below), and it can be sterilized and disinfected.

The Promessa plan reduces human remains to about 40-70 pounds of an organic powder. It should be noted that conventional cremation reduces the remains to a fine ash, weighting much less.

Promessa’s plan includes placing the powder in a starch coffin, which is buried in a very shallow grave. The starch coffin degrades in six to twelve months allowing the powdered remains to be absorbed by the soil. A tree, plant or shrub may be planted on the grave, their roots absorbing the nutrients from the remains.

Promessa claims their environmental process does not cause any impact on the environment, and should eliminate restrictions.

This should make it possible to locate gravesites freely in places where it is not currently legal or practicable to do so; on ones property, or family property, or other places with emotional ties to the deceased and family. It will also make it possible for family and friends to visit gravesites at their convenience.

Churches in Sweden have backed the plan, describing the issues as ethically similar to those addressed when approving cremation about 100 years.

The ashes remaining from conventional cremation are often scattered by families per the deceased’s wishes. Scattering of cremation ashes from human remains are often bound by state and local regulations.

Many European countries consider mercury as a highly toxic heavy metal that has been linked to damage to the brain and nervous system, and are actively legislating to eliminate mercury and other heavy metal emissions into the atmosphere.

The previously mentioned city in southern Sweden, Jonkiping, will convert its crematorium into a “promatorium” next year. The city’s decision to do this was driven by new strict environmental laws, restricting or eliminating mercury and other toxic emissions resulting from the cremation of dental amalgam fillings.

The alternative was to add an expensive gas scrubbing system and furnace at its fifty year old cremation facility.

In England, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has advised all cremation authorities and companies in the UK they have until the end of 2005 to consider their options for a fifty percent reduction in the emissions of mercury by 2012.

It is estimated that crematoriums release up to sixteen percent of the UK's total mercury emissions. As cremations account for about 70 per cent of the 650,000 funerals in Britain every year, the negative environmental effect of mercury emissions from cremations has become a cause for concern.

Officials in some of the local community’s (councils) environmental health departments have stated: "More and more people are dying with their own teeth, and mercury emissions released in cremations are set to increase by sixty five per cent by 2020 unless action is taken.”

Several Councils are looking to install special equipment in their local crematoriums to absorb the mercury emissions resulting from the cremating of mercury amalgam dental fillings.
One council has established a task group to investigate the long-term benefits of Promession with a view to phasing out cremations as early as 2007.

Other countries, including New Zealand are carefully studying the Promessa’s process as an alternative to cremation.

NASA Is Considering Promessa’s suggested cryogenic method to be able to return the remains of deceased astronauts on board their interstellar spacecraft. Danish engineers commissioned by NASA for project “Body Back” have studied various methods for handling deceased astronauts in space. In their report to NASA they suggest Promession as the best method available to return Astronauts remains from extended space travel.

The author, DA Roth builds and markets unique hand crafted hardwood cremation urns for human and pet remains. He is interested in sharing knowledge about cremation and cremation urns with others. Please see: http://www.signatureurns.com

Cremation: Ashes to Ashes

The Church No Longer Forbids the Practice, but Doesn't Allow The Scattering of Cremated Remains



To judge by the box-office receipts, millions of Americans saw the final scene in the movie "The Bridges of Madison County." In it a son and daughter honor their mother's last request by scattering her ashes from a scenic Iowa bridge.

It's high drama, a powerful moment. Whatever else it might be, however, it would clearly not be a proper burial if the woman were Catholic.

But the mere fact the woman was cremated is not the issue. Today many Catholics, in speaking with their parish priest about funeral arrangements for themselves or for a loved one, are surprised to learn the Church no longer forbids cremation. What those cinematic heirs did wrong was to ignore the Church's stipulation that cremated remains (called "cremains") must receive a proper burial in consecrated ground.

"You can't store Grandma on the mantel or scatter your father's ashes across the 13th green of his favorite golf course," advises Father Peter Polando, canon lawyer and pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Youngstown, Ohio. "The Church has strong feelings about the fact that this body has been a temple of the Holy Spirit and requires a proper burial as a result."

By definitions supplied from funeral-industry literature, cremation is the process of reducing the body to bone fragments through the application of intense heat. The bone fragments are then pulverized, and placed within a temporary container before being returned to the family.

Catholic burial practice calls for the cremains to be buried in an urn within a consecrated grave or placed inside a mausoleum. Keeping ashes at home or scattering them on land or sea, even where legal, is inappropriate to the Church's deep reverence for the body as a place where the soul has resided, As "Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia" notes:

"Cremation was the normal custom in the ancient civilized world, except in Egypt, Judea and China. It was repugnant to early Christians because of the belief in the resurrection of the body. By the fifth century, cremation had been largely abandoned in the Roman Empire because of Christian influence."

These days, cremation has become more common in the United States among persons of various denominations. The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) estimates that out of roughly 2.6 million deaths each year, there are some 471,000 cremations, or about 20 percent.

By the year 2010, the association predicts, cremations will account for almost 33 percent of funeral planning. Currently, California far outstrips the nation with 93,221 cremations reported in 1994. CANA says there 1,100 crematories in the United States.

The number of cremations is increasing for three main reasons. First, there is a growing shortage of burial spaces in some sections of the nation. Second, in a mobile society where many people move often, it's much simpler to transport ashes than a casket. Many elderly who live in the northern states, for example, winter in warmer climates. It's not unusual for them to leave instructions that, should they die there, their bodies are to be cremated and the remains flown home to be interred in the family burial plot. And a third reason is financial: a cremation typically costs significantly less than a full-scale burial in a casket.

Just when and why did the Church change its teaching on this option?
In his book "Questions and Answers," syndicated columnist Father John Dietzen explains "the first general legislation banning the burning of bodies as a funeral rite burning of bodies as a funeral rite came from the Vatican's Holy Office in May 1886, noting the anti-religious and Masonic motivation behind the movement. The 1918 Code of Canon Law continued that ban because cremation was still considered a flagrant rejection of the Christian belief in immortality and the resurrection."

But now the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, which devotes hundreds of words to some subjects, matter-of-factly devotes only 20 words to the topic: "The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body" (no. 2301).

The current Code of Canon Law (revised in 1983) devotes a mere 30 words that elaborate on the same theme: "The Church earnestly recommends the pious custom of burial be retained; but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching" (no. 1176).

So what happened between the end of World War I and the writing of the revised code? In 1963, the Church began to relax its attitude toward cremation for reasons of national custom, lack of burial space, disease control and other considerations. Now the revised code's canon incorporates the 1963 decree, but omits any mention of requiring a good reason for cremation.

Father Polando noted that the Canon Law Society of America's "Commentary on the Code of Canon Law" is more specific: "In the old code, the former law was quite forceful and restrictive in its opposition to cremation. Actually, the Church has never been against cremation as such, but discouraged it because of the reasons people used to justify it.

"The Church reacts to problems that come to its doorstep," he continued. "The Church adopted the stance it did because people were using cremation to justify denying the resurrection of the body."

But now the Church believes those who request cremation aren't doing so out of any desire to deny bodily resurrection or defame Church teaching. Cremation and a Catholic funeral liturgy would, of course, be denied if that were the case.

By Lou Jacquet