What are the differences? By holding a memorial service after the burial or cremation has taken place, the most obvious difference to a traditional funeral is that a memorial service will be held without the person's body physically present (held in a coffin).
A memorial service (or celebration of life) is a funerary ceremony that is performed without the remains of the deceased person. The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves.
The body must be prepared in a mortuary registered with the NSW Ministry of Health. The Cemetery Authority has agreed to carry out the burial of a body that has not been placed in a coffin, in particular the handling of bodies on cemetery grounds. A name plate is to be placed near the body in the grave.
Direct burial or cremation is when the deceased is taken straight to the crematorium or cemetery without a funeral ceremony.
Interment refers to traditional, in ground casket burial while entombment is for above ground placement in a building (crypt) or in a private mausoleum. Inurnment refers to the placement of cremated remains, either in the ground or above ground in a niche or columbarium.
Columbarium – An above-ground structure for final disposition of cremated remains. Committal service – A brief graveside ceremony held with the casket or urn present before it is lowered into the ground.
An alternative funeral is anything considered a non-traditional celebration of someone's life. It could be something as simple as a direct cremation or ceremony without a minister, or something more unusual like an alternative burial like a woodland or sea burial.
A simple funeral is an attended service at a local crematorium, without the expense of a hearse. This means the coffin will be resting in the chapel, ready for you to arrive and celebrate their life. Simple funerals have a similar structure to traditional funerals, but they tend to cost much less.
There'll be no prayers or reference to an afterlife in this memorial service as the loved one rejected the idea of religion in life. Friends and family can come together to express and share their sadness as well as celebrating a person's life in a simple, sincere way.
In NSW, you must use a casket or coffin for burial or cremation. However, you can apply for an exemption to be buried in a shroud on both religious and non-religious grounds. Learn more about shrouded burial in your options for after death.
A natural burial does not use embalming fluid, a casket, or a burial vault. The deceased is placed directly into the earth. Natural burials allow the deceased to become one with the earth and to give back to nature. Natural burials often don't have typical headstones or memorial benches.
Are coffins sold back to the funeral director for re-use? No. The coffin and the body inside are cremated together. There are occasions where the deceased or the family of the deceased has opted for using a cardboard coffin in which their loved one will be cremated.
When properly stored and cooled, a body can be kept for up to six weeks at the funeral home, so you'll have plenty of flexibility when planning your memorial service. Cremation has become an increasingly popular option for people around the country. In fact, more bodies are now cremated than buried.
In both Buddhism and Hinduism, open caskets are permissible with some specific prescriptions of custom and aesthetic. In the Muslim tradition the deceased is buried as soon as possible, so no open casket services are possible.
The cheapest option for a funeral: direct cremation
A direct cremation also offers greater financial control and flexibility over how you say goodbye, as opposed to the familiar formula offered by most local funeral homes.
Direct cremation is the least expensive way to bury your loves one. It is done respectfully, and gives your and your family time to find the most personal and affordable burial option.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not a legal requirement that a coffin or casket must be used to house a dead body.
The options currently available in Australia are burial (in the earth or water) and cremation. There are many variations on the type and cost of the container and the final destination for the body or ashes.
The two main funeral types compared: Burial and cremation.
The current legal alternatives to cremation in the United States are burial, alkaline hydrolysis, and terramation.
It is important to note that the skeleton does not 'turn to ash' upon burning. Even within modern crematoria, which burn efficiently and at high temperatures, the skeleton will survive.
Of all world religions, Islam is probably the most strongly opposed to cremation. Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is little diversity of opinion about it. Cremation is considered by Islam to be an unclean practice.
A direct cremation is the term used in the funeral industry for the simplest cremation available. It's a cremation with no funeral service or ceremony beforehand. After death, the deceased goes straight to the crematorium to be cremated, usually in a very simple, plain coffin.