Urns for Ashes

The history of cremation goes back to the dawn of humanity. Cremation urns for ashes have been found that date back to 3000 BC. In eastern cultures such as India, Japan and China, cremation is almost universally practiced. In the West, the ancient Greeks were the first known culture to make cremation a standard and ritualized practice that included the use of cremation urns. Why do so many cultures choose cremation over burial, while others have traditionally opposed the practice?

Cremation in Eastern Cultures

Cremation has a mixed history throughout the world. The earliest cremated remains were found in Australia and date back over twenty thousand years. In India's Hindu culture, open air cremation has been practiced for thousands of years, based on the belief that the soul is released from the body when it is cremated. The cremated remains are ideally scattered in the sacred Ganges River in India. Buddhists traditionally cremate the dead as a way to emphasize the transitoriness of life. The Buddha's cremation pyre was said to self-ignite and his bones were divided and placed in eight stupas. Many Buddhists today inter the remains of their loved ones in special urns for ashes.

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Cremation in Western Cultures

In the West, cremation has not been as widely accepted. Cremation in ancient Greece was first recorded in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in the 8th century BCE. In ancient Greece, it was an expedient way of disposing of the bodies of those killed on the battlefield, but only the remains of distinguished generals were cremated separately; their remains put into urns for ashes which were kept as a remembrance of them. In Greece, as in other cultures, it was the responsibility of the family of the dying to care for them in their final days and dispose of their remains. Both burial and cremation were accepted practices.

The practice of cremation spread throughout the Roman Empire. When Roman emperors were cremated, an eagle was released over his funeral pyre to symbolize his deification. In Rome, cremation urns for ashes were placed in a large structure called a columbarium. Today, this practice has been revived and many columbaria can be found in cemeteries throughout America and Europe. Special urns for ashes are made to fit in a standard columbarium niche.

The Abandonment of Cremation in Western Culture

The practice of cremation was abandoned after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity has been largely opposed to cremation since its inception, the belief being that the body was the temple of God and not to be desecrated. Contrary to popular belief, though, the Catholic Church made exceptions to this rule until Charlemagne outlawed it in the 8th century. It resurfaced as a practice much later and was finally deemed acceptable by the Catholic Church in the 1960s.

In the United States today, cremation rates have risen to nearly 40%. In some states, the figure is much higher, while in others, it is as low as 5%. However, its acceptance is increasing rapidly and the demand for cremation urns for ashes continues to grow. Because of cultural and religious changes, urns are available to cater to just about any taste or sentiment. Many of the most popular styles of urns for ashes are spiritually symbolic without being religiously symbolic, while others are reminders of the life of the deceased. Still other popular styles include a Christian Cross or Buddhist Wheel of Life.

Whatever one's preferences and beliefs, all funeral practices share some common themes. They serve as memorials to the living and as a way of reconciling with the inscrutable mystery of death. Urns for ashes serve as reminders of the life that has passed and of the immortality of the spirit, as do caskets and other vessels. In an increasingly shrinking world, we are learning to tolerate and accept the different ways in which people wish to pay their respects to those they love who pass on.