BURIAL
This page, and the one on cremation, may be especially difficult, yet deciding between burial and cremation is one of the first choices you must make. It's your decision!
Disposition is the term used by funeral professionals to describe the final handling of the deceased's body. Although your initial decision is between burial and cremation, there are several variations on each. Whichever choice you make, the body will eventually return to its natural elements.
Burial Choices
If the body is buried...
- It can be interred (earth burial).
- It can be entombed in a crypt within a mausoleum (above-ground burial).
- It can be buried at sea.
Some Reasons Why People Choose Burial
- Burial is traditional within your family, religious group, or geographical area
- You do not like the idea of the body being "burned" and prefer to have the body slowly return to the elements.
- You want to erect a monument on the grave so are able to visit the grave in the days to come, and you find a cemetery more appealing than say, a columbarium.
Decisions To Make If You Choose Burial
- Whether or not the body is to be embalmed
- Which kind of casket or container will house the body
- Whether to buy a casket, rent one, or build your own
- Whether or not the cemetery requires a vault or grave liner
- Which cemetery to use and/or how many spaces your family might need
- What to put on the monument