When planning a funeral, you’ll choose between burial and cremation. The popularity of burial after death has decreased in recent years. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, as of 2023, more than 60% of funeral clients request cremation services rather than burial.
People who choose cremation cite ecological reasons and affordability as their most frequent reasons. However, cremation also offers other benefits, including the ability to scatter the ashes of a loved one in a meaningful place. When families make funeral plans, the funeral director will ask which other services they want. According to Tranquility Cremation, you can request full service cremation, which often includes embalming to enable the family to have a memorial service and viewing.
You will also choose an urn or cremation jar for the ashes. Choices will range from a simple urn to luxurious vessels with velvet interiors and elaborate exteriors. According to Ever Loved, although the average cost of cremation is between $2000 and $4000, veterans or clients with low incomes may be able to arrange for free cremation services. The same website reports clients who donate their bodies to medicine often have their cremation paid for by the hospital.
The days of burial are slowly being phased out and more and more people are working to find alternatives that are going to be easy, eco-friendly, and that are attainable. Cremation services are a fantastic option if you are looking for an alternative to traditional burial. For those that want to learn more about how much is it to cremate a human or how they cremate a body and do you need a funeral home for cremation, many crematoriums, and funeral homes that offer cremation will be glad to explain cremation and find out more about the process.
Cremation is an efficient and cost-effective method of handling a body after death. Instead of burying the deceased in the ground, the body is fully incinerated and then presented to the family to do with as they please. Cremation is a great way to keep your family members with you after
death, to save some money on the cost of disposing of the body, cremation costs significantly less than traditional burial, and an excellent way to honor your dead. People in larger cities like Las Vegas are opting for cremation over burial for some surprising reasons. If you want to learn more about why cremation is gaining in popularity, keep reading.
In 2017, the US cremation rate was greater than the burial rate at 51.6%. Experts estimate that by 2022 our cremation rate will be nearly 58%. This is amazing considering that as recently as 1876 cremation was entirely illegal. While there are many reasons for this change, one of the most important has always been the low cost cremation services offer. Affordable cremation services make planning a funeral simpler and take away much of the financial burden that adds insult to injury for those trying to deal with losing a loved one. Here are eight reasons people are turning to cremation in the twenty-first century.
Affordable Cremation Services
Without a doubt, the main reason for the increase in popularity of cremation is cost. The typical cremation costs only a third of what a traditional burial would cost, and sometimes even less. Even if you go with the cheapest possible burial options, affordable cremation services will still beat that price by a large enough amount to get most people’s attention.
Changing Families
Burial made a lot more sense when the whole family stayed together and different generations were buried in the same plots. Today, fewer and fewer Americans can even claim a genuine “hometown,” and the family burial plot is no longer accessible. Even if it were, no one really wants to be buried there.
Changing Values
In the past, religious values had a lot to do with the aversion to cremation. Some of those religions which previously banned cremation entirely have since clarified that it really doesn’t matter whether a person is buried or cremated. Meanwhile, people are increasingly placing value in ecologically friendly and sustainable ways of living; and also dying. In the long run, cremation is a lot more eco-friendly and sustainable way for us to persist as a species than our traditional burial methods.
Have it Your Way
Yet another reason for the increased interest in affordable cremation services is the flexibility it gives the family and friends to plan for memorial services. in the past, it was almost obligatory to hold a funeral within a week or two of death. Now, once the cremation has taken place, remains can be held indefinitely until the family decides where they want to scatter the ashes and precisely when and where is most convenient for holding a memorial service.
Staying Together
Ironically, though the changing face of the American family has contributed to the increase in cremation, there are still many people who choose cremation so that they can stay together with the ones they love. The smaller urns for holding cremation ashes are easy to bury together in an inexpensive plot. Certainly far easier than trying to find burial space for three, four, or more people in caskets.
Scattering Sites
One of the attractive options that come with affordable cremation services is the freedom to scatter a loved one’s ashes wherever they indicate. Instead of being buried in just one place, a person’s remains can be scattered in multiple places. The process can even provide those left behind with a chance to grieve and process as they visit some of their departed loved one’s favorite places.
Easy Medical Donation
Some people are interested in donating as much of themselves as possible to the cause of science. Scientists and hospitals can take whatever parts are necessary to benefit others and extend life, while the rest of the body is cremated and the remains are given back to the family. When a person donates their body to science in this way, the family typically does not even have to pay for the cost of cremation.
To Become Jewelry
There’s a lot of controversy over this option, but some people want to have their ashes made into a diamond which a loved one can then wear. It’s not even necessary to have the ashes made into anything. It’s also possible to buy multiple mini urns which can be incorporated into necklaces, rings, bracelets, or anklets.
There are a lot of reasons to consider cremation over burial, and these are just a few. As you’re making the decision, why not check out affordable cremation services in your area and think about planning ahead to take the burden off your loved ones later.
