Honoring the Dead: Burial, Funeral, and Cremation Traditions

Burial and cremation are two different types of method of disposing the body but funeral is a ceremony that is used to honor and celebrate the life of the deceased.

For many having a loved one pass away is hard and on top of that having to decide what preparations that need to be made is even harder. There are many ways to honor and respect the dead and depending on the different cultures, each body is treated in a different manner.

Burial, Funeral and Cremation are three different processes that are related to the passing of a body and what happens after. A lot of people make certain plans in their will of what they want after they have died.

Burial is a ritual in which the body of the loved one is placed inside the ground with their favorite or cherished objects. The body can be placed in a casket, which is sealed before it is placed inside the ground. For many families, the church that they visit to often has a cemetery joined with it and the person is usually buried there. A lot of cultures bury their dead and human burial can be dated back to 100,000 years. Certain cultures such as Egyptians, buried the dead with all the comforts that the person would need in their afterlife.

Funeral is a ceremony that is used to remember, honor and sanctify the dead. Depending on the culture, there are various different ways that can be used to celebrate life of the deceased. Some offer prayers, while other pray for peace. Other rituals include religious readings, burning of the body, mummification, or even bone picking. These rituals are often require cleaning the body and offering it a peaceful journey. Other cultures also include rejoicing the life of the deceased including drinking and telling stories about the loved one.

Cremation is a process in which the human body is burned to ashes. The process is defined as the combustion, vaporization and oxidation of dead bodies to basic chemical compounds, such as gases, ashes and mineral fragments retaining the appearance of dry bone. Some cultures, such as Hindus, cremate their dead after which the ashes are submerged in the sacred Ganges river. Cremation is an alternative to the burial process, in which the body is buried as opposed to being burnt. Cremation dates from at least 20,000 years ago in the archaeological record, with the Mungo Lady, the remains of a partly cremated body found at Lake Mungo, Australia.

In short, burial and cremation are two different types of method of disposing the body but funeral is a ceremony that is used to honor and celebrate the life of the deceased.