Everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing cremation
vs. burial. Cremation is an alternative to earth burial. Cremation is irreversible. A deceased person's body is placed in an appropriate container and then taken to a crematory. Visitation and religious services can follow if desired. Families may choose the type of container with which they are comfortable. We can help with planning a cremation service, as well as any other services.
Grief and the loss of a loved one affects everyone in their own way. In most cases, the way in which we choose to honor a loved one’s passing is as unique as the deceased was. For many years, a funeral service and burial was the only way to care for a loved one. In recent years the popularity of cremation has grown with more and more families now selecting cremation services as a way to care for their loved one.
Cremation services offer many options for personalization and honoring a loved one. The great thing about a cremation service is that it provides you with the flexibility to plan a service that meets your family’s needs and budget. For instance, some families may elect to hold a traditional funeral service before the cremation or a memorial service afterwards. In both cases, the service can help your family say goodbye and respect your religious beliefs. Other families might be turned off by the thought of a traditional funeral service and instead choose to plan a more casual, celebration of life service.
Many families that choose cremation have the same services and religious rites as those that choose burial or entombment. Cremation as a choice does not prevent that. Studies have demonstrated that having time to say goodbye is healthy, and having a funeral is important to the survivors. Services can be as private as you would like. Others do not wish to view the deceased. They may choose visiting with a closed casket. Some prefer a memorial service without the body present. Many prefer some type of religious service: at the church, funeral home or cemetery. There are as many choices with planning a cremation service as with burial or entombment. At Westchester funeral home, we are always available to help with Cremation Services in Eastchester NY, Westchester, Tuckahoe, Bronxville, Scarsdale, Yonkers, Bronx, White Plains, Hartsdale, Rye, Greenburgh, Ardsley, Tarrytown, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Elmsford, Purchase, Mount Vernon, and Harrison.
You will need to decide if you want your loved one to be buried or cremated. Although, with a cremation you can also plan a burial. If you choose to have your loved one buried, you will need to decide if you want to have a viewing with the body present and if you want this viewing to be public or private. You will also need to make arrangements for a cemetery plot.
Given the religious, ethnic, and regional diversity among us, there are many other reasons for the dramatic rise in the number of cremations performed each year. According to Tyler Mathisen of NBC, one of those reasons "is the softening of the Catholic church's views of the practice. For centuries – until 1963, in fact – the church outlawed it. The church's laws still express a preference for burial. But the outright ban is a thing of the past."
He goes on to tell readers that the decline in nuclear families is another reason. "As more Americans live far from hometowns and parents, and as family burial plots have waned in popularity and accessibility, millions have turned to cremation as a practical and cost-effective way to care for a loved one's remains."