5 Surprising Facts About Cremation
Cremation is a well-established alternative to burial. However, there’s still a lot of mystery for most people about cremation. Because it’s a sensitive subject, and most don’t like to talk about death, it makes sense that there’s a lack of common knowledge. We thought we might help to clarify a few things with some interesting facts about cremation and how it works.
1. Cremation Is More Popular Than Ever
With national rates as high as 99% (Japan) and rates over 50% in Canada and the United States, and continually growing cremation rates domestically and internationally, cremation is gaining popularity, and with good reason. There are space-saving, environmental, and economic reasons to choose cremation over a traditional burial. In many cases, honoring the wishes of the dead means continuing to honor the work and beliefs they held in life in their treatment afterlife. With so many being concerned for the environment and expenses their survivors have to pay, it’s natural that more people would choose cremation.
Most religions recognize cremation as legitimate and spiritually viable. This wasn’t always the case though. It was against protestant doctrine until World War 1, and considered unacceptable by Catholicism until 1963.
2. Cremation Temps Are Really High
It’s not surprising that cremation requires a lot of heat, but you might be surprised by just how hot cremations get. Standard cremation requires a temperature of at least 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, but can get as high as 1800 degrees! That’s hot enough to easily melt metals like aluminum, magnesium, and zinc.
Despite these high temperatures, it still takes approximately two or three hours for an average adult to be fully cremated. These high temps remove all the biohazardous bacteria and other microorganisms that make bodies to the living. This is why it’s completely safe to keep your loved one’s cremated remains in our home, such as in a decorative urn. This also means you don’t have to make immediate decisions about what to ultimately do with your loved one’s remains.
3. There’s Only One Body Per Crematory!
There were a lot of inflammatory news reports some years ago about people not receiving their loved ones’ remains from crematoriums. However, legal and responsible crematoriums only have one body in a crematory at a time. While there may be multiple crematories at a crematorium since it takes two or three hours to cremate a single body, it is in no way a common or accepted practice to cremate multiple bodies in the same space at the same time.
Rumors to the contrary arise from a minority of illegally operating and irresponsible crematoriums, or from faulty testing processes. Those high temperatures we mentioned earlier obliterate DNA, and cause bones that aren’t incinerated to shatter, and those remains are then typically ground to dust, making legitimate confirmation by a third party of remains’ identity all but impossible.
This is exactly why you need to choose a reputable and responsible crematorium! At Maine Cremation Care we want to make sure you feel confident and comfortable with our process because what you’re going through is hard enough without added doubts and fears.
4. Cremation Is an Ancient and Venerable Tradition
Ancient Greeks practiced cremation more than two thousand years ago. In some parts of India the tradition of cremation goes back even further. However, the oldest known instance of respectful and intentional cremation goes back 40,000 years to an aboriginal woman found in Australia referred to by archaeologists as “Mungo Lady.”
Even in Europe, cremation goes back at least 4,000 years. Making cremation a very long tradition for caring for our dead. This long history has been largely forgotten as cremation fell out of fashion in the West with the rise of newer burial traditions with the growth of Christianity about 13 centuries ago. In many European nations cremation was banned by law in the dark and middle ages and replaced entirely by Christian burial rites.
While modern cremation as a practice is much younger, it might also be older than you expect. The first serious efforts to reintroduce cremation 1870s thanks to improved furnace technology that made it more practical. It was thought to be a better alternative to burial because there was less chance for disease to spread than with traditional burial in often-overpacked cemeteries.
Since the 1960s, Cremations have steadily become more common than burial in many Western and Eastern countries. Today it is more common than traditional burial in the United States, Canada, and the UK.
5. Have a Funeral for a Cremated Loved One (If you Want To)
In many people’s minds, cremation and funerals are disassociated. While this makes some sense, as you don’t have a body to bury after cremation, funerals, and even burials can still be conducted after cremation. Most funeral homes regularly conduct funerals for the cremated, and most cemeteries either allow burial of remains, or interring remains in a crematory vault or monument.
This flexibility is a major boon since one big advantage of cremation is that it removes the urgency of a funeral. Cremated remains can be stored indefinitely. So if you find yourself unexpectedly trying to do right by a loved one you’ve lost, cremation can be a great way to hit the pause button and take some time to recover and breathe and make the best decision about their final rest.
In fact, cremation opens a wide range of other options. Spreading remains, dividing remains among multiple survivors, using remains to make artificial gems, and more. Cremation isn’t necessarily the end of the line, and it doesn’t have to limit the expression of your loved one’s personality and wishes past their life.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, cremation is an option that gives surviving loved ones more time and flexibility in how they grieve and how they memorialize their deceased loved one. As an affordable, safe, greener alternative to conventional burial, cremation is an important option to discuss with loved ones and consider for your own final wishes.
