CREMATION OPTIONS

The advancement of technology does not only benefit those who are living; it can also do great things for those who have departed from this world. Recently, horticulturists have discovered that it is possible to convert the cremains of deceased persons into food for plants. This goes to mean that we can turn the cremains of our loved ones into part of a living and growing plant, and let his or her spirit live on for many more years to come.

Cremains are mostly made up of calcium phosphate, and horticulturists found that it is possible to convert calcium phosphate into orthophosphate, a plant nutrient that is used in potting soils and fertilizers. This is achieved with the use of a catalyst (MPS), which will hold the calcium and release the phosphate. The phosphate is then combined with bacteria to form phosphate ion, which is essential for the production of orthophosphate. After that, the phosphate ion is mixed with calcium, nitrogen, potassium, and a catalyst to produce a nutrient that provides great nourishment for plants.

There are many things you can do with the cremation remains of your loved one, but converting cremains into planting soil does bring a whole new meaning to his or her death; it gives promise of a new life. As the cremains of your dear one contribute to the life and growth of a new living thing, it regenerates a whole new cycle of life. From infancy to survival and then to eventual death of the plant, your departed loved one will get another chance to bring beauty and hope to the world. 

Converting the cremains of your loved one into planting soil is particularly an ideal option if your loved one is a gardening enthusiast, or even a regular nature lover. The plant that you grow with the special soil will be a living memorial for him or her. You can use the soil to plant a wide variety of flower plants and trees. If your departed dear one loved roses, you can use the soil that contains his or her cremation remains to plant a rosebush. Also, turning cremains into planting soil is one of the most environment-friendly ways of handling cremains.

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The world is going green. From the biodegradable paper diapers that swaddle a newborn’s bottom to the body’s cremation at death, eco-conscious Americans are seeking ways to move through life without increasing the environmental damage to our world. Environmental experts agree that cremation is greener than traditional burial. While it does take quite a bit  of energy to cremate a body, the environmental toll is considerably less than the resources consumed to make coffins and the environmental burden created by the toxic chemicals used during the embalming process.

A December 2008 article in U.S. News & World Report online noted that cremations are increasing in the U.S. Concern for the environment certainly plays a roll in the move toward greener funeral arrangements, but cost considerations driven by the poor economy appear to be the major reason more families are choosing cremation. Just as it took high gas prices to spur Americans to embrace fuel-efficient cars, it may take economic belt-tightening to lead Americans to recognize the environmental — and financial — advantages of cremation.

Cremation options allow families a wide variety of choices in planning the final arrangements for their dearly departed. Cremation permits the use of biodegradable cremation caskets that are considerably less expensive than the heavy, sealable coffins required for burial. Unlike burial, cremation does not require the use of underground concrete vaults to protect the earth from decomposition. Cremains are clean and sterile and produce no risk of toxic harm to the environment. When cremation is selected, families can even choose to eliminate embalming, saving the environment from the highly toxic chemicals released during the embalming process.

Unlike burial, cremation does not require land resources, freeing more land for other uses and decreasing the amount of land needed for cemeteries. If a family does choose to inter its loved one’s cremains in a cemetery, more than one set of cremains is usually allowed to be interred on a single plot, decreasing the amount of land space devoted to burial. Columbariums, free-standing columns or walls located within mausoleums or chapels, allow multiple cremation urns to be stored, each in its own niche,  in a compact space, further decreasing land use. Cremation also allows scattering of the deceased loved one’s cremains, an environmentally friendly option that uses no land space and allows cremains to return to and enrich the earth.

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It is true that everybody lives a life that is uniquely his own. Unfortunately, all the colorful memories and blissful adventures that he has experienced in his lifetime will have to come to an end one day. And when a person passes away, those who are near and dear to him will be left wondering - what can be done to make a life well-lived more memorable?

I remember the time when I visited a friend of mine, Bill, right after his father’s death. His father had been fighting lung cancer for a few months, and he finally succumbed to the disease the day before my visit. I have never seen Bill look so sad, and when he started talking about the good times he spent with his father, I truly understood how much his father meant to him.

One of the things that Bill talked about was particularly interesting. He said that his father had wished that his body would be cremated after he passed away, and his cremains should be scattered in a few specific places around the country, including his old home in Duluth, Minnesota, his college in Madison, Wisconsin, a spot on Route 66 (I can’t remember the exact location) where he and his friends had visited on a road trip, a church in Boston where he and Bill’s mom got married, a hospital in Boston where Bill and his sister were born, and the family’s present residence in Allentown, New Jersey. All these places truly meant something to him.

I only met his father on a few occasions, and all along, he seemed to be just an ordinary family man. But after listening to Bill talk about his father, I came to the understanding that every person is much more interesting than what he appears to be. And when he departs from the world, the only thing that is left to do to justify a meaningful and irreplaceable life is to give his remains an honorable place of rest.

While Bill’s father had very specific instructions about what should be done to his cremated remains, many people just leave it to their family members to decide. Other than scattering the cremains of loved ones in specific places, you can choose to scatter them in the sea or from an airplane as well. If you wish to keep the cremated remains, you can store them in a decorative cremation urn and keep it in your house or a columbarium. Another option is to bury the cremation urn in your backyard or a cemetery.

Different people have different preferences when it comes to handling the cremains of their departed loved ones. And it is really up to you to decide which is the best way to make the death of your dear one as meaningful as his or her life.

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Although it is a common belief that the first cremation funerals were performed in the Middle East and Europe around 3000 BC, there is evidence that the practice of cremating human bodies actually started very much earlier. The cremains of the Mungo Lady were found in Lake Mungo, Australia in the year 1969, and it clearly showed that human beings had started burning up the bodies of their departed loved ones some 20,000 years ago.

However, the discovery of Mungo Lady was too singular for historians to ascertain that cremation was actually widely practiced among the early inhabitants of Australia. On the other hand, elaborately decorated pottery cremation urns that were found in Russia showed that the Slavic population had been quite advanced in the practice of cremation around the time of the Stone Age. Later on, from around 2500 BC to 1000 BC, the people in the British Isles started to embrace cremation, and the practice spread to other European countries, such as Hungary and Italy. Cremation was introduced in Greece around 1000 BC. During the time of Homer, around 800 BC, the country was ravaged by war, and cremation became a most convenient way to dispose of the bodies of slain soldiers. 

After the Greeks, the Romans were the next major civilization to practice cremation. Cremation became so popular among the Romans that the government issued a decree to prohibit the practice within the limits of the city. The Romans continued to cremate the bodies of their deceased loved ones until the end of the Roman Empire, using finely-crafted urns to store the cremated remains of their departed loved ones and keeping them in buildings with columbarium niches.

Although cremation was widely practiced during the time of the Roman Empire, it was regarded as a paganistic ritual by the Christians and Jews. When the Christianization of Europe came about around 400 BC, people throughout the continent were not allowed to cremate the bodies of their deceased loved ones. Instead, burial became the only option for them, and they did not practice cremation for the next 1,500 years, except for times when wars or plagues broke out.

The birth of modern cremation took place when Brunetti, a professor from Italy, exhibited his model of a cremation chamber in Vienna in the year 1873. One of the people who saw the model was Sir Henry Thompson, surgeon to Queen Victoria. Thompson was so impressed with Brunetti’s model that he started the Cremation Society of England the following year. In 1878, the first crematory in England was established in the town of Woking.

The practice of cremation in the United States officially started in 1876 when Dr. Julius LeMoyne set up the country’s first crematory in Washington, Pennsylvania. Within the next decade or two, crematories were being opened in major cities around the country, including Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Buffalo, and Cincinnati. The Cremation Association of America was established by Dr. Hugo Erichsen in 1913, but it changed its name to the Cremation Association of North America in 1975. By 2000, the number of crematories in the United States had increased to more than 1,500, and approximately 600,000 cremations were performed in that year alone.

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In these challenging economic times, with families fearful about job layoffs and struggling to pay rising fuel and food bills, an increasing number of U.S. families are turning to cremation as an affordable option to traditional burial. Reflecting a national trend, the Baltimore Sun recently reported an increase in cremations in Maryland over the past year. According to the Sun article, funeral directors and industry groups are reporting increasing nationwide interest in cremation as a less costly alternative to traditional embalming and burial.

“We are seeing a substantial increase [in cremation] across the state,” Hari Close, a Baltimore funeral home owner and president of the Maryland State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors, told the Sun. “The economy is the issue. … It’s a situation where families in some cases don’t have the resources to bury.”

According to statistics from the Cremation Association of North America, over the past decade, cremation has been rising steadily as a preferred funeral option.  In 2006, the last year for which figures are currently available, 33.6% of American families chose to have their departed loved ones cremated. Funeral directors say that while the nationwide trend toward cremation is being driven by environmental consciousness (see tomorrow’s post), weaker religious affiliations and our mobile society, it is cost that is the major motivating factor behind most families’ decisions to cremate their departed loved ones. 

Through Cremation Options, a simple cremation can cost as little as $795 compared to the $2795 cost of a traditional funeral. Arranged through your local funeral home, burial costs can easily run $7,000 or considerably more. Families without life insurance to help pay funeral costs are increasingly choosing cremation to avoid depleting the family budget or dipping into critical cash reserves.  For families who don’t already own a cemetery plot, cremation can save that additional $1500 (0r more) cost. Since most cemeteries permit the burial of multiple cremains on a single plot, even those who wish to have their cremains interred in a family burial plot can realize a savings. Cremation also allows families to honor their dearly departed now but delay interment until the economy and their personal finances are more stable.

Interestingly, funeral directors report that families who choose cremation are still requesting a viewing and memorial service with all the accoutrements of a full burial. “They’re seeing a chance to have their full service, but yet it costs them two to three thousand dollars less than if they opted for a funeral,” said Baltimore funeral home owner David Weber, spokesman for the National Association of Funeral Directors.

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