If you have recently lost a loved one and are unfamiliar with funeral arrangements, you may have some questions. As more people in Canada opt for cremation, you may have considered it, though you are unsure what it entails. This blog shares five interesting facts about cremation you may not have known.
Fact 1 – It is a very old form of burial
Cremation gained a lot of media attention during the covid-19 pandemic. Many still think it is a modern burial method. But people have been cremating their dead for thousands of years. In parts of Europe and the Near East, proof of this burial practice has existed for 9000 years.
Fact 2 – Cremation can include a funeral
When people hear cremation, they think of turning a body into ashes. There’s more besides scattering the ashes or holding them in an urn. Cremation is of different types. A direct cremation allows you to opt out of the traditional funeral. It involves converting the body to ash without any ceremony before or after. Other cremation types allow you to hold an open or closed casket funeral before cremation. You can also have a memorial service afterward. Ajax cremation services offer several types, and you can choose the one you prefer.
Fact 3 – More people are choosing cremation over traditional burial
All over the world, people consider cremation an alternative. Conventional burial is seen as the real type of send-off for a loved one. That is starting to change. The last two years have seen more people opting for cremation instead of a traditional burial. The reason can be attributed to traditional burial costs, which tend to be more expensive. Or the fact that some religions have grown more accepting of the practice. Sensitivity to environmental issues may also be a reason. Cremation is regarded as more eco-friendly than a traditional burial. It requires fewer resources and accomplishes in a few hours what traditional burial can accomplish in months.
Fact 4 – Burial after cremation is possible
Many believe cremains must be stored in an urn or scattered somewhere. However, you can choose to bury cremated remains the same way you would bury a body. Some cemeteries allow you to bury an urn containing your loved one’s ash. The cremation service can help arrange this if you choose. Although, because of its size, some cemeteries offer a single plot for several urns. Others provide a vault for such burial instead of land.
Fact 5 – The cremation process involves one body at a time
Crematoriums can only process one body at a time. It is unethical and illegal to do otherwise. That is why a cremation service may have several facilities for this purpose. The size of each facility can usually only hold one body at a time. However, two or more bodies can be cremated together in rare cases. The funeral home may arrange this, but the bereaved must consent before it happens.
Life is interesting, and so are death and burial practices. Cremations have a lot of interesting common facts, but not many know about them. The more popular it gets, the more we discover truths about it that we did not know before.
