All Cremation Options

It's something everyone deals with at some point in their life and sometimes planning for it makes things a little easier... your funeral.When it comes to making those plans, officials said the number of people choosing to be cremated has increased over the years.People are going with cremation for a number of reasons. Cost being a big one. However, as you start to plan for your funeral, you now have various options and instead of waiting for it to happen, some folks plan for this years in advance.You could choose for yourself or let your loved ones make the decisions.Steve Baye with the Kearney Cemetery told NTV News you could be cremated but buried in the ground, placed above ground or placed in the cremation garden.He said you can opt for a full body burial above ground or go the traditional route underground, however, more and more people are choosing to be cremated."It's changed a lot. This year, we're at 53% cremation rate which is way up. Last year, I think was 37% cremation rate and when I started here in 1984, we had one cremation funeral the whole year back then. So it's really changed over the years,” said Baye.Baye said he believes the main reason folks are choosing cremation is because of cost and how easy it is to move a person if need be. However, he adds that the jump in cremations changes things for cemeteries and funeral homes."It's less time to do a funeral, it's less income and for your funeral homes and a lot of cemeteries, it's caused a financial burden for a lot of private cemeteries because they don't have the income coming in from full body, so they're raising prices there and come up with different ways to attract people being buried in their cemeteries,” said Baye.Some folks are choosing to buy their plots and plan their own funerals years in advance. Baye said he has especially seen a rise over the years in burial plot purchases ahead of their time."I’ve already got a plot picked out and paid for... So cremation is the next thing and that's all I’ve got,” said Kearney Resident Paul Connett."I lost a c...

For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return" - this verse from the Bible holds little sway with many Christians in Zimbabwe who oppose cremation.They want their bodies interred intact - and feel that nature should take its course, instead of hastening a return to dust.Cremation subjects a human body to intense heat ranging from between 500C (930F) and 800C. It is the family's choice to then decide what to do with the ashes afterwards.The contentious topic of cremation is again in the headlines as the municipal council of Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, has recommended mandatory cremation for those who die aged 25 and under.The proposal comes less than two years since the council had said the bodies of children aged 10 and younger should be cremated - highlighting the stark reality facing urban planners. The rapid population growth around Zimbabwe's urban centres means burial space is running out. Councillors have limited options and they feel cremation is the solution.One of the city's six cemeteries - West Park Cemetery - is reported to only have space for 200 graves. And the capital, Harare, is facing similar problems.There are disputes about what the Bible actually says about cremation, but the core opposition to cremation is likely to spring from traditional burial rites.Sprinkling beer required at gravesidesCultural activists say cremation has no expression is African traditional religion.The dead, known as "the ancestors", are symbolic and carry a lot of weight amongst the living. They need to be respected, and to do that you need a grave that you can take care of. There are rich cultural practices to be done at the graveside that involve the sprinkling of beer to appease the forefathers. With ashes sprinkled in "no man's land", this would make the ritual difficult to practise. The spiritual connection between the dead and the living is difficult to disconnect. Cremating a human body entails that sad disconnection. And there is a strong view that this...