Cremations
About Cremations
As a new millennium begins, many people are choosing to return to a custom as old as the earliest recorded history. Cremation dates back to the Stone Age when it was practiced in Europe and the Near East. By the time of the Roman Empire 27 B.C. to 395 A.D. cremation was widely practiced, and cremated remains were generally stored in elaborate urns, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Like to Start Arrangements for a Cremation?
While cremations are more common in Western Europe and Japan than in North America, the number of people in the United States and Canada selecting cremation has risen significantly during the past few years
Cremation Today
Today, cremation is the process of reducing the body to bone fragments through the application of intense heat. The body, usually in a casket or some other container, is placed in a cremation chamber where applied heat reduces the casket and body to ashes and bone fragments weighing from three to seven pounds for an average adult. The temperature may reach as high as 1700 degrees F. The cremation process, from the time the cremation is started to when the urn can be returned to the survivors, averages about seven hours. After several hours cooling, ashes and bone fragments are separated from non-combustible materials such as bridgework and casket hinges.
The cremated remains, sometimes known as "cremains" are then reduced in size so they can be placed into a small temporary container, usually made of plastic. If a permanent container for the cremains, called an urn, has already been selected from the funeral director or crematory, the cremains will instead be placed inside the urn and made ready for burial or some other final disposition.
As long as health regulations are observed, embalming is not required for the process of cremation. Nevertheless, if the surviving family members desire a public funeral with the body present and the casket open, then embalming becomes necessary.
If there is an immediate cremation, a memorial service is suggested. Interment of the cremated remains can follow the memorial service.
Ceremonies and Cremation
Services or ceremonies may be conducted when cremation is chosen. Cremation does not limit choices, but instead increases the options available to you. It in no way eliminates a funeral. Optional services may precede or follow the actual cremation. Prior to the cremation there may be a visitation and/or funeral ceremony with the casketed body present. If a ceremony or service is held following the cremation, the receptacle containing the cremated remains may take a place of prominence. This receptacle is most commonly an urn, which is taken to its final resting place following the ceremony.
Regardless of whether the cremation precedes or follows the funeral, the funeral service should be tailored to benefit the living. Viewing the body of the deceased can help bereaved persons begin to work through their grief by more readily accepting the fact that a death has occurred. Funeral ceremonies also have value in offering family and friends an opportunity to honor their loved one and it gives them an opportunity to remember.
Personal Touches
A service, such as a memorial service that recognizes that a person has lived and has now died, can be helpful to family members and friends if there are personal items present. Objects that recall an interest or hobby of the deceased or a group of pictures taken throughout many years are commonly used. Highlights of one's occupation or ethnic background can hold special meaning for those present. Reminiscing in this way, friends and family may reflect on a loved one's life, as well as on his or her death.
A memorial service is not unlike other ceremonies that distinguish our lives. Baptisms, graduations, bar mitzvahs, and weddings all serve to recognize a significant event in a person's life. The ceremony provides acknowledgement of a person's life and offers loved ones a chance to say a last goodbye.
The type of memorialization usually influences the decision regarding final disposition of cremated remains. Just as ceremonies offer value to the living, so does establishing a permanent memorial. It serves as a focal point for the remembrance of a loved one and can help in begin their healing.
Usually cremated remains are placed in some type of permanent receptacle or memorial urn before being committed to a final resting place. The urn can be buried in a family plot or urn garden. A marker or headstone may be used to mark the site. Sometimes the urn is kept in the home. The urn can also be placed in a memorial niche at a cemetery or church where it may be viewed through a protective glass or sealed behind a memorial plaque.
Some cemeteries have special gardens where cremated remains may be scattered. In areas where it is permitted by law, cremated remains may be scattered over land or water. However, this decision should be carefully considered because the act of scattering remains is an irreversible decision. If no permanent memorial site is established, survivors may later experience regret, feeling that the bond is broken forever. The emotional value of establishing a permanent memorial site is worthy of consideration. It might also be possible to plant a tree or flowers in a significant place to serve as a memorial to the loved one who has died.
Costs of Cremation
Costs for cremation services vary somewhat from region to region and according to the type of services employed. Memorial services, like anything else, become more expensive as they grow more elaborate. They can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Local customs that affect demand for the availability of facilities and services may also have an influence on cost. Other factors affecting cost include the choice of cremation casket or container, the selection of a memorial urn, and the form of memorialization.
Virginia law requires a closed container to protect the health of operators and for the dignity of the deceased. There are many inexpensive cremation caskets and containers from which to choose. In addition to fine hardwood caskets, minimum containers made of cardboard or particleboard are also available. Cremation caskets and container costs will vary according to the materials used and designs selected. Likewise, memorial urns will vary in price. Urns are made from a variety of materials including bronze and wood and other materials, such as ceramic.
These are regulations from the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers:
1. Human remains shall be transported to a crematory in a cremation container and shall not be removed from the container unless the crematory has been provided with written instructions to the contrary by the person who signed the authorization form. A cremation container shall substantially meet all the following standards:
- Be composed of readily combustible materials suitable for cremation;
- Be able to be closed in order to provide complete covering for the human remains;
- Be resistant to leakage or spillage; and
- Be rigid enough for handling with ease.
2. No crematory shall require that human remains be placed in a casket before cremation nor shall it require that the cremains be placed in a cremation urn, cremation vault or receptacle designed to permanently encase the cremains after cremation. Cremated remains shall be placed in a plastic bag inside a rigid container provided by the crematory or by the next-of-kin for return to the funeral establishment or to the next-of-kin. If cremated remains are placed in a biodegradable container, a biodegradable bag shall be used. If placed in a container designed for scattering, the cremated remains may be placed directly into the container if the next-of-kin so authorized in writing