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Two Together: Save £100!
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Two Together: Save £100!
Save £100 when you purchase two funeral plans together. Call us for more details.
5 minute read
Despite the rising popularity of direct cremation as a form of funeral in the UK, there are plenty of cremation myths that are still widely believed. These misconceptions can prevent those who might benefit from cremation from looking into whether it would work for them.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most commonly believed cremation myths, and shed some light on them.
Possibly the most widely believed cremation myth is that it is normal for more than one person to be cremated simultaneously, or that people are cremated in batches. It’s natural to worry about a process like death, which we cannot control, imagining that we will be cremated alongside a stranger by the crematorium in order to save time. But this is not the case.
In fact, crematoria are not permitted to cremate bodies simultaneously unless a specific request has been made by the applicant for a ‘joint’ or ‘shared’ cremation. A mother and baby who have both died in childbirth, or stillborn twins, for example, could be cremated together in the same coffin by request.
You can also rest assured that the cremator is always thoroughly cleaned between each use. This ensures that there is no unintentional mingling of ashes.
Given that each body is cremated inside its coffin, the reuse of a coffin is quite simply impossible. Once the deceased has been enclosed within their coffin, it is sealed, and remains with them until the end of the cremation process. Regulations require coffins, including all of their fittings and fixtures, to be suitable for cremation.
This means that things like the handles of the coffin could be made of plastic so that they melt during the cremation process. It’s for this reason that metal, ceramic and glass objects cannot be enclosed with the deceased in their coffin during cremation.
Finally, in order to extract any of the coffin fittings that were made of metal, e.g., the screws, and in some cases, the handles, the crematorium staff will pass a large magnet over the cremator.
Direct cremation is a form of funeral that is becoming more common in the UK, and its rise is due to three main factors:
Direct cremation offers an alternative to those who are seeking a less traditional and less formal approach for their own cremation, and it also tends to be a lot cheaper when compared to the average cost of a funeral in the UK.
A ‘pauper’s funeral’, or, to use the preferred term, a ‘public health funeral’, is often confused with a direct cremation. Many people think they are the same thing, however, this is not the case.
A ‘pauper’s funeral’ is a funeral ceremony that a local council is legally obliged to carry out for someone who lacked the means to pay for their own funeral, or any friends or family willing to take on the expense themselves.
You can learn more about the difference between direct cremation and a ‘pauper’s funeral’ here.
Different religions have different official views on cremation. The Vatican has recently accepted the practice of cremation, but, in 2016, banned Catholics from keeping the ashes of their loved ones at home indefinitely.
Protestant sects of Christianity have different views on cremation, and the Eastern and Greek Orthodox churches are fundamentally opposed to it (although the Greek church didn’t oppose a 2006 change to greek law permitting the practice).
Beyond Christianity, cremation is forbidden in Islam and Orthodox Judaism, but permitted by Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsees and Hindus.
Cremation occurs at such a high temperature that any toxins or bacteria from the body are destroyed in the process, so in this sense ashes are not dangerous. However, in recent years, fuelled by the rising popularity of cremation, ashes are having an ever more detrimental impact on the environment.
People want to scatter the ashes of their loved ones in meaningful places to them, such as in rivers, on mountain tops, in forests, and even on the pitches of special football clubs. But higher levels of phosphate derived from the human bones in the ash can upset the ecological balance of these places. The Cremation Society gives some guidance on cremation etiquette here.
Those are just a few of the myths associated with cremation, and we hope that you have enjoyed learning about the truth behind them. If there are any questions that you’d like to ask our team about cremation, or if you’d like to discuss our prepaid direct cremation plans, we’d be more than happy to talk to you. You can give us a call on 0800 066 3346.
