THE CREMATION PROCESS (1) Body is identified and the deceased’s family grants authorization to cremate. Medical devices and prosthetics are removed and jewelry is recovered before the body is placed in a combustible box. (2) The box is positioned inside a cremation chamber and heated to 1,400° to 2,000°F for 1.5 to 2 hours. (3) Remains are cooled and a technician removes metal pieces with a magnet. (4) Remains are pulverized to a fine powder. (5) Ashes are put into a container or urn and returned to the family. —Leah Campano
Contrary to popular belief, the cremated remains are not ashes in the usual sense. After the incineration is completed, the dry bone fragments are swept out of the retort and pulverised by a machine called a Cremulator—essentially a high-capacity, high-speed blender—to process them into "ashes" or "cremated remains",[56][57] although pulverisation may also be performed by hand. This leaves the bone with a fine sand like texture and color, able to be scattered without need for mixing with any foreign matter,[58] though the size of the grain varies depending on the Cremulator used. The mean weight of an adult's remains is 2.4 kg; the mean weight for adult males is about 1 kg higher than that for adult females.[59] There are various types of Cremulators, including rotating devices, grinders, and older models using heavy metal balls.[60] The grinding process typically takes about 20 seconds.
The bodies arrive in caskets occasionally made of wood or metal, but more commonly cardboard, and are kept in these containers during the entire stay. Human remains must be enclosed in caskets for ethical and health reasons, such as protecting the cremation technician from infectious diseases, but also for the safest handling of the remains prior to cremation.
The appearance of cremated remains after grinding is one of the reasons they are called ashes, although a non-technical term sometimes used is "cremains",[3][4] a portmanteau of "cremated" and "remains". (The Cremation Association of North America prefers that the word "cremains" not be used for referring to "human cremated remains". The reason given is that "cremains" is thought to have less connection with the deceased, whereas a loved one's "cremated remains" has a more identifiable human connection.[61])
Can you have a funeral without a body?
I’d gone to his funeral but hadn’t made it to the cemetery—the one in which I now found myself. I’m surprised to see nothing marking the spot where he’s buried. It’s just a patch of dirt with a number “83” handwritten in concrete. There are big marble headstones on one side of him and on the other side, a pile of plastic flowers, bits of light blue ribbon, and Styrofoam crosses that say “I Love You.”
^ "Cremation". Catholic Encyclopedia. The Encyclopedia Press. In conclusion, it must be remembered that there is nothing directly opposed to any dogma of the Church in the practice of cremation, and that, if ever the leaders of this sinister movement so far control the governments of the world as to make this custom universal, it would not be a lapse in the faith confided to her were she obliged to conform.
We come from the Earth, we return to the Earth. That may be true, but the way we return to the Earth matters on more than an emotional level. It’s an environmental concern. As cremation continues to replace burial as a go-to way of dealing with the dead, the emissions that come along with this process have become a concern—so much so that people are starting to consider some wild-sounding alternatives.
Although the Holy See has in some cases authorized bishops to grant permission for funeral rites to be carried out in the presence of cremated remains, it is preferred that the rites be carried out before cremation, in the presence of the still intact body. Practices that show insufficient respect for the ashes of the dead such as turning them into jewelry or scattering them are forbidden for Catholics.[88]
In the Netherlands, the foundation of the Association for Optional Cremation[31] in 1874 ushered in a long debate about the merits and demerits of cremation. Laws against cremation were challenged and invalidated in 1915 (two years after the construction of the first crematorium in the Netherlands), though cremation did not become legally recognised until 1955.[32]
Flowers are an excellent way to express your sympathy while giving the loved ones of the departed a beautiful reminder of the love and support that surrounds them. Whether you decide to send a beautiful standing funeral spray or wreath to the service or a simple and elegant sympathy bouquet to the home, there are many sympathy flower and gift delivery options for every need and budget.
Traditionally, Zoroastrianism disavows cremation or burial to preclude pollution of fire or earth. The traditional method of corpse disposal is through ritual exposure in a "Tower of Silence", but both burial and cremation are increasingly popular alternatives. Some contemporary adhererents of the faith have opted for cremation. Parsi-Zoroastrian singer Freddie Mercury of the group Queen was cremated after his death.
A cremator is an industrial furnace that is able to generate temperatures of 871–982 °C (1,600–1,800 °F) to ensure the disintegration of the corpse.[41] Modern cremator fuels include oil,[42] natural gas, propane, and, in Hong Kong, coal gas.[43] Coal and coke were used until the early 1960s.[citation needed] Modern cremators automatically monitor their interior to tell when the cremation process is complete and have a spyhole so that an operator can see inside.[44] The time required for cremation varies from body to body, with the average being 90 minutes for an adult body.[44]
Can you be buried without a funeral?
As I leave Rosehill cemetery, I decide to stop by the grave of my friend David, who was dealt a bad set of cards. His mother was an alcoholic. His father had left. He was sent to a city-funded boarding school and managed to graduate with a football scholarship to college, but lasted just one semester. And like something out of a bad movie, he met a girl, was introduced to crack cocaine, lost his job, wound up with HIV, and ultimately developed kidney issues that landed him on dialysis for well over a decade. He was on the kidney donor list and was near the top when he died of heart failure in 2015.
The Baha'i Faith forbids cremation, "He feels that, in view of what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said against cremation, the believers should be strongly urged, as an act of faith, to make provisions against their remains being cremated. Bahá’u’lláh has laid down as a law, in the Aqdas, the manner of Bahá’í burial, and it is so beautiful, befitting and dignified, that no believer should deprive himself of it."What was the purpose of the mortuary temple?