What to Know About The Different Types of Cremation

From North Battleford, SK, to Martensville, there are different cremation services for families to choose from. There’s traditional cremation, direct cremation, and cremation with a memorial service. Understanding what they are and their differences is key to knowing the right one for your needs.

Traditional Cremation

If you’re familiar with a traditional burial, you have a general idea of how traditional cremation works. There’s a visitation or wake, a funeral service. But instead of heading to a cemetery after, the body goes to the crematory. To say their final farewell like a graveside committal service, a family can arrange for a witnessed cremation. Close family members follow the body to the crematory, where they have a small service and witness the cremation process until the body enters the cremation chamber.

It’s the cremation service for those who want age-old burial services and structure, but with cremation instead of a burial. Ideal for Christians, Jews, and other orthodox religions. But sticking with tradition is expensive. There are several services to plan for. Embalming, rental casket, funeral home services, and the cremation itself are some of the major costs of a traditional cremation. Hence, although you avoid burial costs like buying a grave plot and burial vault, traditional cremation is still the most expensive type of cremation.

Direct Cremation

On the other hand, direct cremation is the least expensive. It’s a straightforward cremation service with zero services. The body goes directly to the crematory, and the ashes are returned a few days to two weeks after. There’s no witness cremation option here. Instead, the family can plan a memorial service or celebration of life on their own, immediately or months after receiving the ashes. Or do nothing.

Direct cremation is easy to arrange, and it’s an ideal option for families who:

• Want swift closure
• Want an affordable cremation option
• Have distant relatives

Of course, direct cremation is not limited to families with these needs. Anyone can choose to have one. You can have a personalized memorial service tailored to the deceased’s personality and wishes.

Cremation with a Memorial Service

The difference between direct cremation and cremation with a memorial service is the family pays the funeral home to organize the memorial before but usually after the cremation. This can be weeks or months after the cremation. The exact timing is up to the family, as long as arrangements have been made. Unlike a traditional funeral or memorial, the body is not present. But the family can display the cremated remains in an urn or decorative container.

As a result, cremation with a memorial is more expensive than direct cremation. But it’s still less costly than a traditional cremation since there’s no embalming, need for a rental casket, or grave plot. There’s no right or wrong cremation service to choose from. Each one exists to serve different needs, and it’s up to the family to decide what suits them. We offer all three cremation services in North Battleford, SK. Call us now to speak with our funeral director or for answers to additional questions you may have. We’re to help.