There’s absolutely no denying how cremation services have become the most popular form of final disposition in the United States throughout recent years, but why exactly are people forgoing traditional burials?
This has been a cultural phenomenon that’s only just begun now in the 21st century, and the past 10 years have shown a dramatic increase in cremations—all while traditional burials have significantly decreased.
Below are some of the top reasons why cremation services are growing in popularity in the United States, and why cremation could be a good option for you or your loved ones!
Why Are People Choosing Cremation Services?
There are many economic, cultural and personal reasons that explain why cremation services have become increasingly more popular in America, and below are just a handful of the top reasons why people are choosing cremation services these days:
Lower Funeral Costs
Affordability is by far the most common reason why people are choosing cremation over conventional burials. A lot of people don’t realize this, but cremation services are typically less than half of the cost of burials.
Many state-of-the-art cremation services that also include family memorials and additional features will only cost around $2,000, and direct cremations can be purchased for as little as $800.
On the other hand, just the average cost of a traditional burial and coffin at a funeral home is around $8,000. So when you compare the costs of both final disposition options, it’s no wonder why burials are trending downwards and cremations are trending upwards!
Cremation Services Are More Personal
It’s no secret how the American population has become increasingly more secular and less religious, which means that more people are breaking away from the traditions associated with death and funerals.
What’s really nice about this change is that a decedent’s friends and family can now celebrate their loved one’s passing in more personal and unique ways—as opposed to being tied down to following old ceremony traditions. This is a big reason why end of life celebrations are growing in popularity, and these ceremonies are often 100% unique and based upon the decedent’s interests and hobbies.
Cremation services also provide family members with a lot more flexibility as compared to burials, and this often leads to people scattering ashes at a special location, planting memorial trees, or even making cremation jewelry to memorialize their lost loved one.
Newer Cremation Alternatives
Some people are turned off by the idea of cremation because it means that their body will be burned into ashes, and this is understandable when considering our previous traditions of embalming corpses before placing them in caskets.
But what’s really interesting is that as many as twenty states are now permitting what’s known as Alkaline Hydrolysis, which essentially refers to a “flameless cremation”.
This new form of cremation services utilizes chemicals and pressurized water to effectively dissolve an individual’s body, and this has become a popular alternative for people who consider traditional cremations to be somewhat ominous.
Claustrophobia
This might seem ironic considering that it’s impossible to feel claustrophobic after your passing, but a lot of people simply don’t feel comfortable with the idea of being put into a box after death.
Cremation has become popular partly because it gives people a more preferable option by having their ashes placed in an urn, instead of decaying in a box underground.
Environmental Concerns
Although cremation is 100% eco-friendly due to the carbon emissions that are inevitably emitted, it’s still considered to be a much greener option as compared to traditional burials.
Cremation doesn’t involve any kind of harmful embalming fluids, which are frequently released into the soil composition at cemeteries. This change in cemetery soil composition is also known for polluting nearby water sources. Wooden caskets also aren’t fully biodegradable, which is a big turn off for eco-friendly people.
Unlimited Availability
The cemeteries across the United States are only so big, which means that a lot of them are currently running out of space.
There are also countless communities throughout the nation that aren’t being designed with a cemetery in mind, which means that it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to find a convenient cemetery for visitations from family and friends.
Cremation is an attractive option partly because there’s no such thing as a lack of availability.
Memorial Mobility
There are also other practical reasons why cremation services are becoming more popular in the United States, including not worrying about a gravesite’s long-term maintenance and upkeep.
It’s also no secret how American families are less nuclear and more spread out than ever before, which makes the “family plot” concept a bit outdated.
Cremation on the other hand provides an opportunity for an individual’s commemoration to be more mobile, because now each family member can receive an urn with their loved one’s ashes regardless of where they live.
Contact The Jackson, Lytle & Lewis Funeral Home To Learn More About Cremation Services
There’s a lot to love about the affordability and general ease associated with professional cremation services, but finding the right crematorium for you or your loved one can often be easier said than done.
One of the top cremation service providers in the United States is Jackson, Lytle & Lewis, and their Ohio-based team is just a few clicks away when you go to their website via the link at the top of this article!