Benefits of Cremation

Why Do People Choose to be Cremated?

It has always been an on-going debate: cremation vs. burial. Lately, cremation has been winning the battle as the more popular choice. The American cremation rate has been steadily on the rise for the past 30 years. The year of 2015 marked the first time the cremation rate was higher than the burial rate in the United States.

So, why cremation? Everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing cremation, but we have noticed 6 key benefits of cremation:

1. Cost

On average, cremation is generally 45-50% cheaper than burial. Cremation allows you to avoid the big purchases of items like a headstone and a casket.

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2. Environmental Concerns

Cremation is considered to be more environmentally friendly than burial. Often the deceased is embalmed using harsh chemicals for a wake before he/she is buried. People have been critical that these chemicals can seep through a casket and create water and soil pollution. Secondly, burial plots take up land space and disturbs the Earth to inter a casket. Crematories do release carbon emissions into the air, but new technology is really starting to reduce the amount and impact.

3. Simplicity

Often times, when people choose a traditional funeral they choose to have their loved one buried as well. In contrast, cremation is associated more with memorial services and celebrations of life . A traditional funeral involves many more components such as a wake, gathering pallbearers, organizing a mass with a church, coordinating the burial with the cemetery, and more. Memorial Services and celebrations of life can be much simpler if you choose them to be. Since these ceremonies are more based on what you want, you can choose just how complicated and sophisticated the ceremonies are.

4. Cemetery Availability

Plots at cemeteries are becoming more and more scarce. The cemetery you wish to be buried may not have plots available when you pass. Also since the supply of burial plots shrinks the cost of them has been on the rise. Cremation allows you to avoid the trouble of finding a plot.

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5. Flexibility

With burial, you are either interred underground in a plot or above ground in a mausoleum. With cremation, you have several options in terms of what you can do with your loved one’s ashes. You can scatter your loved one’s ashes, store them in an urn, hold a small portion of it in memorial jewelry, blast them as apart of fireworks, mix them into the ink of a tattoo, and do some many other creative things with ashes.

6. Religions Are Becoming Less Strict

Many people are starting to move away from tradition due to religions having a more relaxed stance on cremation. Catholics believe that the soul is immortal and does not depend on the physical body. Since cremation of the deceased's remains do not affect his or her soul, according to the Church, there are no doctrinal objections to the practice (Bryner, 2016). The less strict beliefs of the Catholic church are becoming another reason that people are choosing cremation rather than burial.

Decisions to Make When Preparing for Cremation

Who will perform the cremation?
Should you purchase an urn?
What will you do with the cremated remains?
What kind of remembrance ceremony would you like to have and when?
Where and how can you scatter ashes for a scattering ashes ceremony?

You may wish to keep the remains at your home until you feel ready to let go of them or when all family members can be present for a cremation scattering ceremony. Our professional staff can advise you on unique ways to memorialize a loved one using the cremated remains, including the creation of art glass objects.