How Cremation Works And 6 Reasons Why More People Are Doing It

Everyone’s life will come to end at one point in time. As loved ones, it is their responsibility to send you off the best way they can; although at times, challenges might crop up and hinder them from achieving this goal. There are different ways to send off a deceased loved one, with burying and cremating being at the top of the list. For others, cremation has been part of their culture while others are not familiar with it and prefer the traditional way of burying.

How does it work?

It all takes place in a crematorium and is only done upon request from family members. These crematoriums are special facilities and are not available in funeral homes, as you would expect. Most states prefer to wait at least 2 days before cremating and after that period lapses, the deceased is put in a container and placed into a chamber, where the cremation happens.

The chambers are kept at a maximum heat of 2100°C and take up to 3 hours for the cremation to be completed. However, some may take longer if the body size was bigger and had tough bones, which are later on crushed manually. The cooling process takes 2 hours and most of the remains weigh around 3-8 pounds.

Thereafter, the family can take them for burial, a sacred location, a vault or a location where the deceased had requested them to. With time, Muslims will not be the only ones cremating as many people from different cultures and religions are adapting this idea. The article below will explain some of the various benefits that cremation has to offer when compared to the traditional burials.

Less costly

Your loved ones are left mourning and have to plan for your funeral, which these days are very costly. From the casket to the transportation services, the bills keep getting worse and for some, they are only topping up to the hospital bills. One of the major benefits of cremating is that it does not require a lot of money as compared to burying. You forgo cemetery costs, labor costs, buying a casket (which are quite costly nowadays), hiring transportation for the casket, morgue expenses etc.

Less planning

When you are burying, a lot of planning is required; the church service, the financial planning, the transportation of the body and the family members, meetings after the service, which include preparing beverages and so on and so forth! Cremating on the other hand does not involve even half of this. The body is cremated, preferably the following day after the demise and the family can arrange to have the ceremony afterwards. The service can be done even at a garden or home, since there is no casket.

Saves on land space

Not everyone has land where they can bury their loved ones and some cemeteries can have conditions that you might be most comfortable with. Cremation is a more environment friendly option, where you do not need land which you could have used for something better and more useful than a grave. In the long run, people will be forced to cremate due to the growing population in every part of the world living on the same piece of land which does not change in size.

Portable

After the cremation, the remains are called cremains. They are basically ashes. Most people who had their deceased loved ones cremated, have them in their home or pour the ashes in a sacred place. Both of these ideas make it possible for someone to travel or move from where they live without having to worry about a grave. You can carry them wherever you move to, which makes it more comforting to some people.

More creative options for storage

After cremation, the ashes can be used in several ways in remembrance of their loved one. The most common being scattering them around a sacred place or somewhere the deceased had a special attachment to. Other alternatives are putting them in a burial urn – a decorated one perhaps. These urns are made of different materials such as metal, glass, ceramics or even wood, all for you to suit your liking. Another option is a memorial jewelry, which is basically combining your jewelry with some of your loved one’s ashes.

No maintenance

A grave will need maintenance while cremains do not, apart from keeping them in a safe area to avoid pouring and dusting the urn. Graves will need a gardener or laborer to tidy it up and there are some fees paid to some cemeteries for the grave site yearly.