How Cremations Have Changed Over Time

When cremations are done as one of the cremation services in Glendale, AZ, they are far different from the way cremations have been done in the past. Cremations are one of the old methods of final disposition after someone has died.

The practice of cremating the remains of the dead dates as far back as the ancient Greeks and Romans. Classic literature, such as Homer’s The Illiad and The Odyssey and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, features cremation as the final disposition for heroes and fighting men.

Cremations were practical for ancient armies. When soldiers were fighting battles and wars far, far from home, cremations were done for those who had died, and their cremation remains were carried back when the armies headed back so that they could be buried at home.

Cremations were also celebrations, accompanied by days of feasting and entertainment, of the lives of ancient heroes. To be burned on a blazing funeral pyre was a symbol of pride because it meant that the life of the person being cremated was full of honor and accomplishments.

The practice of cremations spread across most of the known world, mostly due to the Roman Empire, which left its customs and practices wherever its citizens traveled through or moved to live. It became the primary form of final disposal for both small and great, for the unknown and the unknown. Burials were rare, and were reserved for a select group of people.

However, the practice of cremation fell out of favor as Christianity – who viewed cremations as part of pagan customs – began to dominant the world, and underground burials took over as the primary means of final disposition for the dead.

Cremation was rare in the Christian world (exceptions were during bubonic plague epidemics, when the dead piled up faster than undertakers could bury them) until the 19th Century when Queen Victoria’s primary physician endorsed it as being better for public health than burial. The first crematoriums began to be built in both England and the United States.

Still, cremations were relatively rare compared to burials until the 1970’s. As the Baby Boomers came of age and began to disrupt every aspect of society, they didn’t leave funerals out. An environmentally-conscious generation, they saw cremations as being more ecologically gentle than burials, and the rate of cremations has steadily increased since then.

The cremation process itself has changed over time. When the practice of professional cremation started in America and Britain, there were no services held for the deceased person and cremation remains were typically stored in columbarium niches or in urns that were displayed in the home of the family of the deceased.

Now cremations have become very personalized. Services can be held before cremation or after cremation. If the service is held before cremation (funeral), a viewing (the deceased is present) or a visitation (the deceased is not present) can be held as well.

If the service is held after cremation (memorial), then the service can be held any time, anywhere, and in any way the deceased and their family desires.

Once cremation is completed (two to three hours), the cremation remains are returned to family to use in as few or as many ways as they and their deceased loved one have decided to use them.

To learn more about cremation services in Glendale, AZ, our compassionate and experienced team at Simply Cremation & Funeral Arrangements can assist you. You can come to our funeral home at 16952 W. Bell Rd., #303, Surprise, AZ, 85374, or you can contact us today at (623) 975-9393.