When a loved one dies, the family members can decide to cremate or bury the body depending on the culture, religion or wishes. Surprisingly, people from different religions today choose cremation process for many reasons.
The first stage during cremation is reducing the deceased’s body into bone fragments using certain machines. The fragments are further converted to white fine sand known as cremated ash or remains. The ash is then handed over to the family members to handle it in different ways, industry experts at Aaron’s Mortuary & Crematory explain.
Scatter the cremated ash
Before the family members scatter the ash at any place, they first consider whether the place was momentous to the deceased in any way. Most religions and cultures have agreed on certain places where the remains should be scattered. While some cultures permit people to scatter the ash in a garden or mountain, others scatter it in the sea or ocean. Those who scatter the ash into the sea have ancestral reasons that support the practice especially if cremation is happening in a foreign land.
Bury the cremated ash
Family members may opt to bury the remains in a dedicated urn garden, natural burial ground, cemetery plot or special public or private property. If the relatives don’t see the need to bury the whole cremated remains, burying a small portion is an acceptable option. Thereafter, family members and friends can decide to build permanent memorial rocks, monuments, statues or even a plant a tree on the burial site.
Store the ash in an urn
Family members can decide to keep the ash in a cremated urn for years for the coming generations. Urns are available in the market today in different types and one can choose any depending on preference and budget. Most of the urns in the market today are made of silver, ceramic, marble and bronze among others. If one cannot transfer the cremated remains into the urn on their own, they could ask crematorium staff or a funeral director to help them.
It’s clear that cremation has numerous options people can use to give the deceased a respectful send-off. The cremation options depend on the wishes of the family members or as well as those of the deceased. This ensures that the souls of both the deceased and the living are at peace.