Cremation today
is becoming increasingly
popular. The number of people
choosing incinerations has
increased significantly over the
past few years. Statistics show
that in the United States 15% of
all services are incinerations
and the trend shows by 2040 this
will increase to over 40%. In
Canada statistics show that 56%
of services today are
incinerations and it is
projected to increase to over
60% by 2040.
History
Incinerations have been in
existence since the early Stone
Age. It is probable that
incinerations were performed
during those times in areas such
as Egypt, Asia and Europe.
During the late Stone Age,
incinerations then began to
expand across northern Europe,
Spain and Portugal. Cinerary
gardens developed in Italy,
Hungary and continued to spread
to Ireland. The Grecian Trend
then evolved influencing
cremations became quite a
popular custom. So much so that
the by the 5th century, the
Romans issued a decree to
disallow incinerations entirely
in the city. During the Roman
Empire, incinerations were
common and the remains were
transferred in designated
funerary urns and then stored in
Columbariums for permanent
memorilization.
CREMATION TODAY
When we describe the
cremation process, it is the
simple process of reducing the
body to small particles that
resemble sand and bone
fragments. The bone fragments
themselves are further processed
to reduce them to small
particles as well. Without
limiting families wishes,
incineration increases one's
options when it comes to
planning a funeral service.
This by no means eliminates
the wish to have a funeral
ceremony. On the contrary, a
service is often planned before
the incineration itself takes
place and in most cases is very
similar to a funeral service
that opts for ground burial. In
fact, today ceremonies can be as
traditional as they can be
contemporary. The choices made
are personalized to every
individual and will always
reflect and commemorate the
beloved lives of those that have
passed on.
PLANNING A CREMATION
When making arrangements to
plan a cremation ceremony, after
you have chosen your funeral
director, he/she will have a
significant role in the final
outcome. Understand that they
are there to provide you with
advice and guidance. Some
general information will be
required such as: - Does the
family wish to have a period of
visitation?- Does the family
wish to have an open or closed
casket viewing?- What type of
music does the family wish to
have if any?- Does the family
wish to have a religious
ceremony in a chapel or your
place of worship?- Does the
family prefer to have a private
ceremony reserved only for the
immediate family?
MEMORILIZATION OPTIONS
Once the cremation ceremony
has been planned, the next step
is to establish a permanent
resting place for remembrance.
The disposition of cremated
remains is entirely dependant on
the type of memorilization the
family wishes to have. Cremated
remains are permanently
transferred to a funerary urn or
funeral urns before the
permanent resting place is
established. The funerary urn
can be burried at the cemetery
in either a family plot, an urn
garden or conditional to local,
provincial/state laws, scattered
in a scattering garden. Other
choices may be to place the urn
in a columbarium or mausoleum.
If a burial plot or an urn
garden is chosen, a permanent
memorial can be erected. Choices
may include a monument or grass
marker made of granite or bonze.
If scattering is preferred, a
Book of Rememberance is what is
commonly used where the deceased
name is added to provide a place
of pilgrimage to celebrate the
life of a loved one. These and
other decisions will need to be
made. Whenever possible,
pre-arrangements are much less
of a daunting task and more
often than not, the family truly
appreciates when arrangements
are made ahead of time. When
grieving, planning a ceremony is
not an easy task.
EXPLAINING CREMATION TO A
CHILD
When explaining death to a
child and the death of a beloved
family member it's important for
parents to know that this
experience has a profound impact
not only adults but children as
well. Children will experience
grief as much as adults do. What
is essential to remember is that
children react and deal with
death in various different ways
as age progresses.
Their level of understanding,
emotional development and
ability to grasp life's
experiences must be taken into
consideration when explaining
death to children. Helping a
child understand that death is a
natural occurrence in life and
grief is completely normal is
dependant on an adult's ability
to speak about it comfortably
and openly. Children rely on
adults to confirm that feeling
sad and it's all right to cry.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Watts
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