Acceptance varies by state and ethnicity, according to a report by the National Funeral Directors Association. While the practice is not as popular in the Bible Belt and among certain cultural groups, including Catholics, Jews, and African-Americans, in places like California, Oregon, and southern Florida, 60 to 80 percent of the dead are now cremated.
In Europe, there are traces of cremation dating to the Early Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) in the Pannonian Plain and along the middle Danube. The custom became dominant throughout Bronze Age Europe with the Urnfield culture (from c. 1300 BCE). In the Iron Age, inhumation again becomes more common, but cremation persisted in the Villanovan culture and elsewhere. Homer's account of Patroclus' burial describes cremation with subsequent burial in a tumulus, similar to Urnfield burials, and qualifying as the earliest description of cremation rites. This may be an anachronism, as during Mycenaean times burial was generally preferred, and Homer may have been reflecting the more common use of cremation at the time the Iliad was written, centuries later.
The cremation rate varies considerably across countries with Japan reporting a 99% cremation rate while Poland reported a rate of 6.7% in 2008. The cremation rate in the United Kingdom has been increasing steadily with the national average rate rising from 34.70% in 1960 to 75.44% in 2015.[128] According to the National Funeral Directors Association the cremation rate in the United States in 2016 was 50.2 percent and this was expected to increase to 63.8 percent by 2025 and 78.8 percent in 2035.[129]
Though many people want their cremated remains (or "ashes") to be scattered in a personally meaningful place, and some families keep ashes at home, more and more people are finding that a designated place in a cemetery is a lasting alternative to help bring healing and lasting remembrance. Cremation cemetery options include in-ground urn burial, mausoleum entombment, cremation niches, cremation benches and pedestals, columbaria and scattering gardens.
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.
Robin Fisher and all the staff at the Oviedo location are consummate professionals who are a credit to their calling. You have taken care of our family for the second time and we cannot press our thanks adequately. Most of my family members are signed up with national Cremation secure in the knowledge that when our time comes they will take care of our families. Mike
I knew that making funeral arrangements for my husband would be a very painful task, but Stephan Barreto, at National Cremation in Oviedo, Fl., made the experience pain free. His compassion and understanding are to be commended. From start to finish, he was thorough and never made me feel the pain I felt in my heart. Thank you so much...I am so very grateful.

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When you have experienced the loss of a loved one, you can trust us to guide you through the arrangements necessary to create a meaningful ceremony that celebrates the unique life being honored. Our staff is committed to providing the highest quality care and service in your time of need, and we take pride in our responsibility to lighten your burden as you take the first steps toward healing.

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However, Protestant churches welcomed the use of cremation at a much earlier date than the Catholic Church; pro-cremation sentiment was not unanimous among Protestants, however.[96] The first crematoria in the Protestant countries were built in the 1870s, and in 1908, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey—one of the most famous Anglican churches—required that remains be cremated for burial in the abbey's precincts.[97] Today, "scattering", or "strewing," is an acceptable practice in many Protestant denominations, and some churches have their own "garden of remembrance" on their grounds in which remains can be scattered. Other groups also support cremation. Some denominations, like Lutheran churches in Scandinavia, favour the urns being buried in family graves. A family grave can contain urns of many generations and also the urns of spouses and loved ones.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this process has not really taken off. It’s slower. The technology is more expensive: A stainless-steel pressurized unit can cost from $175,000 for a basic unit to $500,000 for a high-end unit, while a cremation unit costs about $110,000. There are legal issues, too, because the process is prohibited unless a state passes legislation specifically allowing for it.

^ Rabow, Jerome A. A Guide to Jewish Mourning and Condolence. Valley Beth Shalom. Archived from the original on 22 April 2006. Retrieved 3 February 2006. ... cremation is un-questionably unacceptable to Conservative Judaism. The process of cremation would substitute an artificial and "instant" destruction for the natural process of decay and would have the disposition of the remains subject to manipulation by the survivors rather than submit to the universal processes of nature.

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I called National Cremation from the hospital when my wife unexpectantly passed away. A representative met me at the hospital within an hour to get the process started. A day later I met with Stephen ** who was extremely helpful in guiding me through the cremation process. He was very professional, knowledgeable, caring, and friendly which made the task so much easier. His help and that of the staff at the Memorial Service was simply outstanding.

When a body is ready to be cremated, the casket is removed from refrigerated storage and placed on a hydraulic lift table that looks like a gurney, then wheeled over to one of the machines. An error would be catastrophic and unforgivable, so Rosehill uses two forms of ID to make sure the family gets back the right remains. A copy of the receipt is attached to the outside of the cremation unit, and a metal ID tag accompanies the deceased inside the unit.

This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. With over 2,000 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year.

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The rise of Christianity put the brakes on the practice in the West. By 400 A.D., around the time that the Emperor Constantine Christianized the Roman Empire, Rome had outlawed cremation as a pagan practice. The theological reason for the ban was related to the resurrection—it was good to keep the body whole and in one place. Jewish law also banned the practice. By the 5th century, cremation had all but disappeared from Europe.
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