Cremation

Where Can I Scatter Ashes?

Once you’ve selected proper urns for ashes, the next step in the funeral process is deciding how to handle the ashes.  Some people choose to keep the ashes in beautiful keepsake urns, where others plan a scattering service. Deciding on where to spread the ashes can be a daunting and hard-to-cope with task, and a lot of this is due to saying goodbye forever. Many people often scatter the ashes in an outside or natural setting, allowing their loved one to become part of the Earth.  Below are a few helpful suggestions of how to scatter cremated remains:

  1. Scatter on land: When scattering on land, you can leave a marker that will allow you to visit the site anytime and find where the ashes we’re scattered. If your loved one had a favorite spot in the yard, this would be an excellent choice. However, if scattering ashes on public land, be sure to check local laws.
  2. Scatter at sea: It’s a maritime requirement that ashes must be scattered at least three miles off shore. This option is extremely popular and perfect for any nautical lover or fisherman. However, when scattering ashes at sea there is no way to leave a marker.
  3. Scatter by air: If your loved one was a free-spirit this is an exceptional choice. Many people choose this method to allow their loved one to become one with the Earth. Like sea scattering, there is no way to leave a marker.

With any scattering option, it’s extremely important to know your local law in regards to scattering ashes.

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Why Choose Marble Urns?

When deciding on the perfect cremation urn to memorialize and honor the passing of your loved one, it’s important to choose an urn that beautifully represents the memory of the deceased. Urns come in a variety of styles and are crafted from many different materials from natural stone to wood. Marble urns are a popular choice for many funerary services, as these stunning urns are hand crafted from the highest quality natural stones found on Earth. If you’re looking for the most appropriate and beautiful urn, consider choosing a marble urn:

  • The beauty and elegance of marble is everlasting. Polished marble is naturally glossy, making marble urns an excellent choice for a memorial. All natural marble is a beautiful natural stone that is unique and available in a variety of colors, making choosing the right marble urn to reflect your loved one simple and effortless.
  • Marble represents tradition and refined taste. In ancient times, marble was the chosen material for building palaces and statues. A marble urn is essentially a small statue that will memorialize your loved one for years to come.
  • Historically, marble was the main building choice stone for sculptors, kings and architects. The natural beauty of marble makes it an exceptional choice for the design of urns and monuments. Every marble urn is unique, due to the natural quality of marble. When you select marble urns, you’re getting a unique and beautiful piece that will respectfully and effectively honor the deceased.
  • Marble urns are well built and durable. Marble Urns from Urns.com are hand crafted with perfection!
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Coping With a Cremation Ceremony

Anytime we’re faced with death for the first time, the concept is hard to digest and extremely foreign to us. Reflect on the first time you attended a viewing or funeral service and what it felt like to see the deceased for the first time. The situation is extremely emotional and surreal. Cremation ceremonies differ greatly from traditional burials, but the emotions are the same. Dealing with your first cremation ceremony can be difficult and extremely foreign, but with a little reflection and guidance, a cremation ceremony can be beautiful and heartfelt.

  • Wherever you decide to hold a cremation ceremony, be sure to include photos of the deceased that help conjure up positive memories. Unlike a traditional burial, the body will not be visible to guests.
  • Treat the ceremony and an opportunity to celebrate the life of your loved one. Tell stories and reflects on the life the deceased once had.  Tell stories that will help make your guests and yourself smile. It’s best to be as positive as possible during this extremely hard time.
  • Choose from cremation urns that reflect your loved one’s personality. It will help you envision the spirit and characteristics of the deceased. Marble urns and inspirational urns are extremely popular, and can help project your loved ones beauty for life.
  • The most important thing to remember is that the ceremony is to honor and memorialize the deceased. The person will live on in spirit and memory, the ceremony is just a reflection on the long life the person once lived. Getting over the initial loss and grief is extremely hard, but trying to think of positive memories with people you love can help make the process easier.
  • If you feel that letting go of your loved one is too hard, cremation urns can be placed in or around your home.
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How to Decide if Cremation is Right for You

Cremation has become an extremely popular burial choice when it comes to planning the final resting place for your loved one. Cremation is less expensive than a traditional burial, and cremation urns can be kept in your home for memorial. However, there are some religious implications and personal feelings to consider when ultimately deciding whether cremation is right for yourself or a loved one. These steps are meant to help you deal with the loss of someone and their cremation.

  • Always take into consideration what the deceased would have wanted. If the deceased never made a choice known, cremation may be an option to consider.
  • Pick a cremation urn and plan a ceremony that embraces the memories of the person you lost: personality, hobbies, interests and other characteristics are extremely important to help choose urns for ashes or to plan a proper ceremony.
  • Gather opinions from family on what they believe would be a suitable resting place. Dealing with loss is extremely hard, and the added stress of an angry family can make coping much harder. It’s important to remember that the deceased no longer dwells in their body anymore, but their spirit will remain regardless of burial choices.
  • Purchase unique urns that cater toward the person’s personality. If there comes a time where you decide you can’t fully let your loved one go, a cremation urn can be kept in a safe place for memory.
  • Choose a place your loved one love and scatter their ashes. Be sure to check with local authorizes before scattering. Plan a heart-felt ceremony at the scattering site and reflect on their lives.
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Talking to Children about Death

Death is a tough and sensitive topic for everybody regardless of age. It is extremely important to talk to your kids about death, and prepare for any questions they might have. Death is a heavy concept that isn’t always the easiest to digest, and guidance and answers are a great way to help children understand death and help cope when they are faced with a devastating situation.

Plan for Questions

If you’re mourning the loss of a loved one of someone close, your children may not be able to comprehend. Children will want to know why you are sad and how they should deal with their sadness. Children will want to know if everyone will die and if the deceased will come back, these questions can often increase the sadness of a parent, but it’s important to stay strong and answer every question.

Answer Questions with Age-Appropriate Answers

Children may not comprehend your answers right away, and it is extremely important to explain yourself in a way that they can understand. Some kids can think more abstractly and handle more complex feelings and answers. Try to encourage your children to explore their feelings and talk openly about death.

It’s Normal to Grieve

Grieving is an important part of human life, and should be taught to children as early as possible. Don’t try to hide your grief around your children; allowing them to experience grief will help them with their own grieving process. Remember crying and grieving is normal when losing a loved one.

Teaching your children about death is hard, but it shouldn’t be something to mask. Explain to your children how people die, and allow them to understand these complex emotions at a young age. Explain that some people choose a traditional burial while others prefer cremation. A child will be confused if they see a cremation urn at a funeral service, and may also be frightened seeing the deceased in a traditional casket. Funeral services can be extremely confusing to children, but with a little guidance, your children will be prepared and not afraid of something natural and important in the human life

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A Brief History of Cremation Urns

The final resting places for the remains of deceased loved ones have been handled in various ways throughout history. Burial traditions are most commonly related to the family beliefs and religious views, and there truly is no universal right to what constitutes as a correct burial. Shallow graves and tombs we’re often made for final resting places throughout history, and cremation urns were used to contain ashes or remains of the deceased for burial.

Cremation is the burning of the body resulting in ashes, and is a practice that is believed to have been originated in Europe during the Stone Age area. Cremating the remains of a loved one was highly controversial and deemed wrong by Christians, but due to the black plague and other health concerns; cremation was brought back as an option for funeral burial. In 1873 the first cremation chamber was invented and cremation became a popular funeral option. History shows that the first urn to hold cremation remains was in Australia over 20,000 years ago. Cremation urns were popular throughout Ancient Greece and Rome. The Romans were said to decorate the urns with images depicting the person’s life.

Throughout history, cremation urns have been a meaningful and customizable choice for funeral burials. Urns today are often crafted from marble, glass, bronze, wood, metal, stone, ceramic and many other materials. Cremation urns have been an integral part of the funeral practices throughout history and an important part of burial ceremonies for many cultures. The popularity of cremation urns has grown throughout history, and the practice of cremation is no longer taboo. Cremation urns are a beautiful way to memorialize the loss of your loved one.

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Planning the Perfect Cremation Ceremony

An important reason that people choose cremation as their funeral arrangements, is that there is room for more flexibility in where, how, and when to dispose of the final remains. An urn can hold the remains for years before you make any decisions about how you want them to be scattered of buried. With this luxury of time, you can properly plan a meaningful and beautiful ash scattering ceremony. Of course, there are factors to consider when planning an ash scattering ceremony, which I will outline below.

  • You must have permission from the property owner and in some cases, further authorization from health and government officials before scattering the remains.
  • Ash scattering ceremonies are a very personal ceremony, often more personal than the tradition memorial service. Don’t feel obligated to invite too many family members to your ceremony. It is important to allow yourself to grieve and say goodbye the way you want. You can always hold a traditional memorial service at a later date.
  • One of the things many people dislike about ash scattering ceremonies is that there is no visible marker that makes it easy to visit the deceased. It isn’t uncommon to place a traditional headstone or other marker at the scattering site. By marking the area, you will always be able to find the exact location of the scattered ashes for visitation and reflection.
  • You can take into consideration the season in which you want to scatter the remains. An avid hunter might be best laid to rest in their favorite hunting spot as hunting season beings, a gardener might be best laid to rest in his or her favorite flower patch as their garden begins to bloom. Choosing a season and favorite location can help you cope with the passing, and give you the added satisfaction of sending your loved one off into a location they had always loved.
  • Having ashes scattered in a place that held special meaning to the deceased is a popular choice. Remember that wherever you scatter ashes, the deceased will become part of the surroundings. Wherever you choose to scatter the ashes, you can always construct a memorial wherever you choose. Many opt for scattering ashes at sea, and erecting a memorial in their garden or a favorite spot.

Scattering ashes can be an extremely hard concept to cope with. The idea of saying goodbye forever is always present in any funeral service, but having the deceased cremated gives the option to hold on for just a little longer. It’s important to remember that scattering the ashes is a celebration in remembrance. You have the beautiful option of allowing your deceased loved one to rest in a place they held dear in their hearts.

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The Intricate Beauty of a Cloisonné Urn

cloisonne urnIf you are looking for a beautiful memorial urn for a loved one, look no further than cloisonné. Cloisonné urns are exquisitely decorated with the finest detail through a process of metal decoration that has been around since the 8th century ad.

These elegant looking urns feature beautiful patterns of metal and inlays that are covered in a porcelain enamel known as vitreous enamel. This give each piece a smooth glass like finish over a rich pattern of decoration. The decoration is all applied into tiny compartments that a craftsperson makes in the metal body of the urn. This delicate inlay process is what makes each cloisonné urn so striking and unique.

The cloisonné technique has been very popular in Asia since the 1600s. Many cloisonné pieces today reflect an Asian decorative approach, since many of the Asian motifs have become part of the classic cloisonné look. Cloisonné can also feature geometric patterns of various colors, floral motifs, or religious symbolism. At Urns.com we carry a variety of different cloisonné decorative styles.

These incredible decorative urns are perfect to commemorate a loved one who had an eye for beauty. Each cloisonné urn is attractive enough to become a key decorative element on a mantle or bookcase. Their sophisticated look makes them a perfect addition to any decorated home.

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Consider a Personalized Memorial Service

Personalized Memorial ServicesEvery person is unique in their own way. Why should a memorial service be standardized when it could be as distinctive and original as the person being honoured? This is a thought that has crossed the mind of many individuals and their families over the years. As a result many variations have been made to the traditional memorial service to better express the life, love, and personality of the dearly departed.

Having a service outside of a church or funeral home is one of the most common variations people use. This allows family and friends to share a special location that was part of the deceased’s life. The location could be a simple as a backyard garden, or as grandiose as a luxury yacht. It all depends on the life and experiences of the person you are honouring.

The scattering of ashes is another common variation to a memorial service. This allows a family to commit the remains of their loved one back to the earth in a place of their choosing, whether it be the mountains, a forest or the sea. Urns.com offers specialty urns designed specifically for the scattering of ashes. These urns are ideal for memorial services that involve the scattering of ashes.

No matter what memorial service you choose, remember that it should reflect the life of your loved one. The family and friends who attend the service should always walk away feeling as though they know the person being memorialized more intimately and that they have shared an experience from their life.

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Memorialize your Loved One with a Motorcycle Urn

motorcycle urnThere is no better way to pay tribute to a loved one than to memorialize them with their life’s passion. If your loved one enjoyed riding, repairing, or building motorcycles, a motorcycle urn is an ideal choice to display their ashes. These urns offer a unique and thoughtful way to remember them in a way they would be proud to be remembered.

These beautifully made urns come in a variety of designs. Some feature beautiful wood carvings of motorcycle scenes, while others are custom engraved with a personal message. We even have unique painted fuel tank designs complete with iconic wing design and plaque that can be engraved. Whether you’re looking for something simple or decorative we have a motorcycle urn that is perfect for your loved one.

An urn does not simply have to be a vessel. It can be a statement of your loved one’s life, accomplishments, or passions. At Urns.com we offer urns to help express all the uniqueness of the individuals they memorialize. We can help you find an urn that speaks to the character and lifestyle of your loved one.  Our motorcycle urns are just one example of the many styles we have to choose from.

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