Latest Cremation Trends
Graveyards take a lot of space and with the cost of dry land going up almost every year, it’s becoming more and more difficult to invest in acres upon acres of land. Apart from that, burial costs are not going down either. This is probably the reason why cremation is rapidly becoming a popular choice among many Americans in the past decade or so. Aside from being cost-effective, the practice of cremation as a way of disposing of the dead is becoming a widely accepted practice across all religions in the North American region with nearly up to 47% of the total dead being cremated. This is a significant rise compared to 25% of bodies being cremated in as recent as 1999.
And the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down either. According to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), it is projected that a full 50% of the dead will be cremated by the end of 2019.
In fact, the idea of cremation has grown so much that people have begun to be more creative in the way they part with their dead thru this means. Let’s take a peek at the trendy things people come up with when looking for cremation memorial service ideas.
Making Your Loved One Shine
Many people are considering to have the ashes of their dead be immortalized by incorporating the ash into precious gems and diamonds. Cremation jewelry making is the art of transforming your departed loved ones into these shining and shimmering pieces of treasure that you can wear with you and can even hand down to the succeeding generations. The process of gleaming works of art has become affordable throughout the years, thanks to modern technology. Now, you can do this too and make your deceased loved one look eternally beautiful.
Scattering of Ashes
Sometimes, if a person desired to be cremated before leaving this world, that person would request that his or her ashes be scattered to a place he or she held dear to his or her heart. Some people leave detailed request as to what to be done with the ashes once such person departs the living, oftentimes these are inscribed in final wills. A person could wish for his ashes to be scattered in the sea because perhaps he was a sailor in life and his life was tied to the ocean. If a person loved hiking, she would have requested that her ashes be scattered on the summit of a mountain that was probably of significance to her. Or it could be that a person just wishes his ashes to be scattered to the wind that blows to the direction of his homeland should he die on foreign soil. There are many creative ways to go about scattering the ashes of a loved one.
From Ashes to Visual Art
As humans, we tend to be visual creatures that’s why seeing something particularly beautiful can easily hold sway to us. Good thing ashes are so versatile, they can be used to make art. Converting your deceased’s ashes into art is one of the trends that’s taking the spotlight in the cremation industry. This means an artist can mix the ashes into the paint to create stunning portraits of the deceased, so it’s as if they are back to life again, with a piece of themselves forever embedded in an image of their likeness. The use of ashes for artwork can extend to vases and pottery that can be handed down as heirlooms. The ashes can be easily mixed into the clay or whatever material that’s used in creating a vase of your choice. But, if you wish to take things a notch higher, you can even use the ashes to create a bust or a sculpture that pertains to your deceased loved one. There’s just so many things you can incorporate the ashes into so you can turn them into something beautiful that can also last for a very long time.
Using Water Instead of Fire
Traditionally, cremation involves burning the corpse into a high heat which dissolves it to ash. However, there is a new process called Alkaline Hydrolysis wherein the body would be subjected to a meticulous process involving it being locked in a tightly sealed canister and let water hasten the decomposition process, leaving the bones behind. The bones are then turned to powder and that’s what will be given back to the family. This new way of disposing of the dead is much more preferred by the people who are environmentally sensitive because doing it this way is more eco-friendly.
