Cremation: Throwing Traditional Burial in the Fire
2009 July 28 by Emily
99.85% of all deceased people in Japan are cremated. This means that when this data was received (in 2008), only 1,785 of the nearly 1.7 million people who passed away were not cremated.
And while the cremation rate in the United States is not as astronomical, it has been steadily rising in the past few years. In just ten years, the cremation rate increased almost 12%, from 25.04% in 1999 to 36.86% in 2009. This number is expected only to grow over the years, with a projected rate of 58.85% in 2025. As evidenced by this data, more and more people are choosing cremation over the traditional burial.
Why this growing trend in cremation?
- Cremation is significantly cheaper. The average funeral will cost around $5,000 to $6,000, which includes preparation of the body, transporting costs, casket and flower arrangements, and digging and refilling the grave, among other things. The average cremation, on the other hand, will have a base price of around $1,000. This price will cover the crematory fee, visiting and service hours, death certificate and newspaper costs, and sometimes the casket (although some crematoriums will have it for rent). The significant difference in price, $4,000 to $5,000, may be the cause for the increasing number of people choosing cremation over burials.
- There are many options for cremated ashes. With a burial, the casket will ultimately end up underground, a headstone or marker placed above it to signify the final resting place of your loved one. However, with cremation, there are a myriad of other options regarding what you can do with the cremated ashes. You can scatter them somewhere meaningful, create a diamond from the ashes, save them in a piece of cremation jewelry or even send them to space. There are an abundance of choices when choosing what to do with your loved ones ashes.
- Time is much more flexible with cremation. By choosing the option of cremation, the family members and loved ones can conduct their personal services at their own time and convenience. They do not need to worry about embalming and disposing the body in a certain amount of time, all the while scheduling a memorial service within this time period. With a cremation, which has an average length of 3 hours, the funeral service can be conducted at the same time, allowing the family to easily choose a time suitable for every member.
These three reasons, however, are not the only explanations as to why cremation has been becoming more popular in the United States. Our more transient society and increasing ecological awareness are all taken into consideration when understanding the growing prevalence of cremation. And while the traditional burial still reigns supreme when choosing what to do with a deceased loved one, cremation is slowly, but surely, being recognized as a viable option.
