Cremation has grown increasingly popular in recent years, as the cost of a traditional burial has skyrocketed. However, deciding what to do with the cremains can be difficult. If your loved one has expressed a desire in cremation or you’re researching cremation for yourself, here are four of the most popular options for placing cremains at rest.
A Niche in a Columbarium
Columbariums usually resemble broad hallways lined with spaces for urns. Some columbariums seal the niche with a remembrance plaque, while others leave the niches open to showcase the urns within. Costs range wildly, depending on size of the niche, where it’s located in the columbarium, whether or not a plaque is required and where the columbarium is geographically. Purchasing a niche will create a public space for all friends and family to grieve, making it an attractive option.
Home Display of an Urn or Urns
It is also perfectly acceptable to display urns in the home. This is an especially attractive options for families who move frequently and don’t want to leave loved ones’ remains behind in another city. Ashes can also be split among two or more urns. For example, if a parent dies and the children wish to each have an urn, there’s no problem with splitting them. Containers range from handsome bronze urns to hand-made pottery urns to attractive steel boxes.
Scattering of Ashes
While this may seem romantic and freeing, the legality of scattering depends largely upon local laws and is considered littering or polluting in some areas. Most crematories crush any fragments in the cremains, but it’s not unheard-of to find teeth and bits of bone still intact. This could be cause for alarm should they be found, so any scattered cremains should be pulverized. If you want to scatter human cremains, check your local laws and regulations before doing so.
Burial of Cremains
If a loved one has been buried in a traditional plot, it may be possible to have cremains interred with them. Some people also choose to bury the cremains at home, or at a place the deceased loved. Others plant a tree over the ashes, so that the tree will stand as the beloved’s marker. As with scattering, various laws exist regarding the practice of burying ashes, whether contained in an urn or not.
Cremation is becoming more and more common. What to do with the cremains, however, largely remains an issue of personal preference and the will of the deceased’s survivors.
