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There is nothing new about cremation or the use of cremation urns. In fact, researchers have discovered evidence of urns used for cremation purposes as far back as 3000 BC. After centuries of dormancy in the West, cremation is now a common practice throughout Europe and North America and is becoming an increasingly popular option. As a result, there has been a huge growth in the production of cremation urns that are commercially available online.
The ancient Greeks were the first Western culture to embrace cremation. They created elaborate ceremonies based around the practice as a way of honoring the deceased. The practice spread to Rome, where it became so popular that in the 5th Century BC, the first known decree against cremating bodies within the city limits was enacted. By the height of the Roman Empire, it was the most prevalent funeral practice.
The early Christians were an exception to this practice, considering cremation a pagan ritual. After the Emperor Constantine Christianized the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, cremation abruptly ended throughout Europe for nearly 1500 years. In America, the practice was rarely recorded until the late 1800s when the first two crematoriums were created in Pennsylvania by a cremation society. The Protestant clergy and the medical establishment both backed these ventures in an effort to reform burial practices in the U.S. and adopt a more hygienic means of disposal of the deceased while still honoring their memory.
By the early 1900s, cremation was becoming common and accepted in the U.S., with over 10,000 cremations recorded in the year 1913 alone. By 1975, this number increased to 150,000 and has grown exponentially since then. A recent estimate states that more than 800,000 cremations will take place in the United States in 2010. As a result, an enormous range of cremation urns has been created in order to meet the demand for receptacles that reflect the solemnity of the occasion and serve as a memento of loved ones.
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John Keats may not have written "Ode on a Grecian Urn" about a cremation urn, but many of the poem's lines reflect the symbolic meaning of such a vessel. When he writes, "When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain," his sentiments reflect those who lose a loved one, but wish to in a sense immortalize them with a keepsake that is a constant reminder of who they were when they were alive. This is a highly personal decision; hence there are many different types of cremation urns to choose from.
When you think of the word "urn," you commonly think of a vessel similar in shape to Keats' Grecian urn. However, cremation urns come in all shapes and are made from many different materials. The simplest ones are the plastic or cardboard boxes that the funeral home or crematorium delivers the cremains in. Even if the relatives of the deceased wish to bury the ashes or scatter them, if means allow, they often wish to first place the ashes in a more symbolically appropriate vessel. These can be very inexpensive, such as a lovely decorated biodegradable container or even a humorous "19th Hole" golf themed cardboard container or they can be very elaborate and expensive, designed to be displayed or even buried after the ceremony.
The list below is just a short list of some of the various options in materials that cremation urns are made from:
Craftsmen use all of these materials to create the traditional lidded bowl type urn. Ceramic and cloisonné funeral urns range from modestly priced glazed urns to exquisitely decorated cloisonné to rival the Grecian urn that inspired Keats' poem. They range in price from under a hundred dollars to several hundreds of dollars. Lathed turned wooden vessels made from rare and exotic species can cost as much as five hundred dollars or even more.
The styles and costs of box style urns vary as much as the turned bowl style urns do. Aside from the very inexpensive unadorned models, wooden containers may have highly detailed inlays depicting scenes from nature. There are even wooden funeral urns that double as mantelpiece clocks.
Those who wish to scatter the cremains of a loved one often face a dilemma, because the light ash often does not blow away in the breeze but instead blows back at the celebrants. Dissolving and biodegradable sand, earthenware and cardboard cremation urns allow the ceremony to proceed with the intended dignity, yet remain true to its symbolic intent.