Coping with the loss of a loved one is rarely easy and cremation costs will vary quite a lot. People should plan to spend around $2,000 to $4,000 if they specifically work with a professional funeral home. However, cremation services can be less costly when they’re from a crematory or cremation mortuary. In those cases, people will typically need to set aside $1,500 to $3,000 to cover those costs. Cremation organizations focus on this process, which can affect the price.
People may also have more options regarding various cremation package prices. Deceased individuals who previously wrote in their wills that they wanted to be cremated might have some specific requests. The basic cremation protocol might not be altered substantially, but those people may have had different requests regarding the ashes.
Some people think of cremation as an alternative to traditional burial and funeral services. However, a number of individuals specify that they would like funeral services, and they would like to be cremated afterwards some day. For a lot of people, this provides something of a balance. There is a ceremony, but they will not have an outdoor grave. Keeping ashes in urns is also very common, and many people will write in their wills that this is what they want.
Different cultures have followed different ways of memorizing their loved ones. But in every society, memorial customs and last rites serve several different functions – they provide a respectful and loving farewell, mark an important transition for families and individuals, and support the grieving survivors. Cremation urns for ashes have been used for millennia, and unique sympathy gifts like titanium cremation jewelry are being used by mourners to memorialize their loved ones.
Last rites for a loved one
Individuals may not be prepared for the final farewell to a loved one, but having the support of tradition and belief helps them to make the transition. The number of cremations is increasing as more and more people choose these over burial. There are many good reasons for this choice.
The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) reports that in the past decade, there has been a 20% increase national cremation rates over the past decade. The number is expected to grow. One major reason is that traditional funerals can be cumbersome and expensive. Traditional funeral costs amount on average to $10,000. Green burials or cremations on the other hand have an average cost of approximately $2,500.
Eco friendly burials and cremation
In keeping with contemporary sensibilities, many people are choosing cremation because it is a more environmentally friendly option. The practice of preserving the ashes has a long history, and in the West dates back to the time of the Roman Empire, which lasted from 27 B.C. to 395 A.D. In the Roman Empire, cremation was widely practiced, and ashes were stored in elaborately decorated urns. The urns were often stored in niches in a building called a columbarium, where remains were kept respectfully.
Cremation and eco-friendly burials are becoming more common in the U.S. and the Green Burial Council reports that there are more than 300 approved eco-friendly burial providers across the country. Cremation urns for ashes are an environmentally friendly form of memorialization and many cemeteries have memorial parks and buildings dedicated to preserving these.
Mourning jewelry and memorial keepsakes
Mourning jewelry in the form of rings, brooches, and pendants has been around for at least four hundred years. It became associated with the Victorian Era, when the mass production of jewelry made it affordable for everyone. It is a highly individual and touching form of memorialization, and cremation keepsakes like ash necklaces and pendants can make sensitive and meaningful sympathy gifts.