Cremation has overtaken traditional burials for the first time ever in America.
The rise in cremation over traditional burial can be attributed to several factors, reflecting evolving cultural, societal, and practical preferences. Here are some key reasons behind this shift:
Cost Considerations: Cremation is often more cost-effective than traditional burial. The expenses associated with caskets, burial plots, headstones, and maintenance can be significantly higher than the cost of cremation and the subsequent handling of ashes. As people become more financially conscious, cremation can be an attractive option.
Changing Religious and Cultural Attitudes: Many religious and cultural beliefs have traditionally favored burial. However, some religious groups have become more accepting of cremation over time. Additionally, a growing number of people identify as secular or non-religious, making them more inclined toward cremation.
Environmental Concerns: Cremation is often perceived as a more environmentally friendly option than burial. Traditional burials involve embalming fluids, caskets made of non-biodegradable materials, and land use for cemeteries. In contrast, cremation requires fewer resources and can reduce land use, which appeals to individuals who prioritize environmental sustainability.
Flexibility and Mobility: In today's mobile society, many people move away from their hometowns or countries, making the maintenance of gravesites challenging. Cremated remains are more portable and can be kept in urns, scattered in meaningful locations, or even divided among family members, offering greater flexibility for memorialization.
Changing Attitudes Toward Death and Memorialization: There has been a shift in how people perceive death and memorialization. Some individuals prefer personalized and non-traditional ways of remembering their loved ones, such as scattering ashes at sea, keeping them in unique urns, or incorporating ashes into memorial jewelry. Cremation allows for more diverse and creative memorialization options.
Lack of Space in Urban Areas: In densely populated urban areas, the availability of burial plots may be limited and expensive. Cremation can provide a practical solution for those who live in cities where space for cemeteries is at a premium.
Decreasing Religious Influence: As secularism and individualism grow, some people are less bound by religious traditions and customs, giving them more freedom to choose cremation as a personal preference rather than adhering to traditional religious burial practices.
Awareness and Accessibility: The increasing awareness of cremation as an option, along with the availability of cremation services and facilities, has made it more accessible and normalized in many regions.
Overall, the rise in cremation over burial is the result of a complex interplay of economic, cultural, environmental, and personal factors. As preferences continue to evolve, cremation is likely to remain a prominent choice for end-of-life arrangements.
Scattering Certificate from Ocean Ashes.
After a cremation families are presented with many choices...
After the cremation of a loved one, families have several choices regarding the handling of the cremated remains and how they wish to memorialize their loved one. Here are some common options:
Urns: Families can choose an urn to hold the cremated remains. Urns come in various materials, styles, and sizes, allowing for personalization. Some families keep the urn at home, while others may place it in a columbarium or niche in a cemetery.
Scattering: Scattering the ashes in a meaningful location is a popular choice. This can be done in nature, such as a favorite park or a beach, or in places with sentimental value. It's important to be aware of local regulations when scattering ashes in public spaces.
Burial: Families can opt for burial of the cremated remains in a cemetery, either in a dedicated cremation plot or a traditional burial plot. Some cemeteries also offer communal burial options specifically for cremated remains.
Columbarium or Niche: Many cemeteries and mausoleums have columbaria or niches, which are compartments designed to hold urns. This provides a permanent, dignified resting place for the cremated remains.
Memorial Jewelry: Some families choose to have a portion of the ashes turned into memorial jewelry, such as pendants, rings, or bracelets. This allows them to carry a small part of their loved one with them.
Artistic or Creative Memorials: Cremated remains can be incorporated into art or even infused into glass to create unique memorial pieces. Some people choose to have ashes used in a painting, sculpture, or other creative projects.
Biotree or Memorial Reef: Innovative options like biotrees, which use ashes to grow a tree, or memorial reefs, which create artificial reefs using urns, offer eco-friendly and sustainable memorialization.
Aerial Scattering: Families can choose to have the ashes scattered from an aircraft, providing a unique and often symbolic way to honor their loved one from the sky.
Donation to Science or Research: Some individuals choose to donate their body to science, and the cremated remains can be returned to the family afterward. This option supports medical research and education.
Keepsakes and Mementos: Families can have small portions of the ashes placed in keepsake urns, pendants, or other personalized items to distribute among family members or friends.
Sea Burial: For those with a connection to the ocean, ashes can be scattered at sea, often through specialized sea burial services. This allows the ashes to become part of the natural marine environment.
Interment in a Family Plot: If the family already has a burial plot in a cemetery, the cremated remains can be interred alongside other family members.
Virtual Memorials: In the digital age, families can create online memorial websites or social media tributes to share memories, photos, and stories of their loved one.
The choice of what to do with cremated remains is highly personal and often influenced by cultural, religious, and individual preferences. Families can take their time to consider these options and choose the one that best reflects their loved one's wishes and their own desire for remembrance and closure.
Throughout human history the ocean has been a part of our ceremonies and rituals...
There is a strong bond between humans and the ocean, to this day we still incorporate the ocean into many of our traditions and vacations. New beginnings are most often linked to these events. Countless civilizations have used the ocean for baptisms and wedding ceremonies.
scattering ashes in the ocean is not the end of ones time but a new beginning. All of our life giving elements that we carried with us are released into earths most powerful and dynamic force, the ocean currents.
within months new life springs from the ocean and countless plants and animals will forever carry a part of us with them. Before long a tiny trace of our body will travel the globe and forever be reclaimed by earths ecosystems.
Today's modern families are also very mobile...
The times where many generations would live and die in the same town are over. Most have loved ones living all over the country if not the world. This is why the ocean can provide a lasting place to remember regardless of where one is located, most people live or visit oceans on vacation making remembering easy.
The good news is that it only takes a fraction of the ashes that are left to perform a quality ocean scattering. Leaving enough ashes for the family to place some at a traditional family plot and create some beautiful jewelry from the ashes.
Companies like Ocean Ashes Inc. specialize in offering a beautiful, dignified service at a reasonable price. It truly is a gift of a new beginning.
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Ocean Ashes offers easy to understand packages that give everyone the opportunity to send some of their ashes out to sea!