All about Cremation Services

Cremation and cremation services are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to the more traditional Western burial service. There are many reasons why one would choose cremation over burial. Quite apart from the lower costs involved, many people feel that cremation is more symbolic of the passing from earthly life than is the burial of human remains.

Many people do not realize that even more options are open to them with cremation services than with traditional burial services. While most details of a burial must be handled by a funeral company, since the body must be buried accordingly to strict laws, cremation ashes (sometimes called cremains) can be released to the family, who can choose to do with them whatever they please. They can also, if they prefer, have a traditional funeral, arranged by the funeral service of their choice.

Evaluating Your Needs

After you have made the decision to cremate, then you must evaluate your needs for a service. Some of the main initial considerations should include the following:

• numbers attending the service
• religious affiliations
• previous preferences of the deceased
• symbolic aspects of the ceremony
• cost of the ceremony
• location of the ceremony
• your emotional needs

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Although your emotional needs are last on this list, they are by no means necessarily last on a list of priorities. As the one who is making the decision, you are probably also the one who was closest to the deceased. Cremation services are for the benefit of the bereaved, so do not allow the perceived expectations of others unduly influence your decisions. For instance, you may feel compelled to have an expensive ceremony. However, this is entirely up to you. The old adage, "it's not the cost, but the sentiment that counts" is doubly true for funerals and cremation services. A simple ceremony can have a purity of purpose that may surpass that of an elaborate ceremony.

You will want to honor any requests the departed made before their passing as best you can. If they were of a particular religious affiliation, for instance, consider having a minister of their faith conduct the cremation services. If they wanted to have their ashes scattered at sea or on a mountain top, consider doing this. One of the advantages of cremation services is that they can be held anywhere. Even if they wanted their remains to be returned to their home country, there are no restrictions to transporting cremated remains overseas as there are with bodies.

Many people wish to have a traditional ceremony. A funeral home can make all the arrangements for this, just as they would for an uncremated ceremony. There is no requirement that the crematory you used be the service you use for your funeral. There are many funeral and cremation services to choose from after the body has been cremated. These are some things you should consider before settling on a provider:

• Cost: Get competitive quotes from a few providers. As with any service, you can save by comparing prices first
• Trust: Do you feel you can trust in the integrity of the cremation services provider? At a sensitive time like this, an atmosphere of trust and respect is more important than cost
• Do you need the services of a traditional funeral home or would a more unorthodox provider be more appropriate to your needs?

Meet with the provider in person before you make any decisions. You will want to work with someone you feel comfortable with. They must be professional enough to be able to arrange a ceremony for only close relatives or for hundreds of invited guests and have it all go smoothly. Once you have put the responsibility in their hands, you should not have to worry about it.

Types of Cremation Services

Because of the nature of cremation, the scope for services is virtually limitless. You can choose to bury the remains in a cemetery and conduct a ceremony there. Many cemeteries have special gardens for cremains. You can choose to have a brass plaque mark the spot or even a headstone. They may also have special buildings or walls set aside for housing cremated remains.

If you like, you can conduct the service in a church or temple and then transport the cremated remains in a limousine, just as a casket would be transported. There is nothing stopping you from having traditional services in every respect.

In most cultures where cremation is traditional, at least two ceremonies are held. The first one is during the cremation itself, while the second one is at the home of the deceased. Occasionally, several ceremonies are conducted, depending on the religious tradition. Sometimes, if the deceased person and his immediate family has moved away from the family village, a second ceremony is conducted there, so that the extended family and friends can pay their respects as well. Many crematories offer this service, but check with them in advance. The actual cremation process lasts from 1 to 2 hours, so allow time for this. Your provider will give you all the details about the cremation process and service.

Some people take a novel approach to cremation services. It is not uncommon among surfers, for example, to hold elaborate services in the ocean near where a fellow surfer either died or loved to go surfing.

Families of avid golfers have been known to conduct a ceremony on the golf course, with permission of course.

Whether you choose to keep the cremated remains in a cremation urn, scatter them or both is entirely up to you. You can choose between hundreds of styles of cremation urns that come in sizes ranging from tiny lockets to large and elaborate urns.

If you have further questions about cremation, you can contact an independent cremation society in your state. They will have contact details about crematories in your area. An organization that represents many cremationists in the United States and Canada is the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). Their website has a wealth of information. There are many other excellent reference sources for cremation services online. Do your research before you settle on a particular service and you will be sure you have made the right decision at this important time in your life.