Among all of the options that are out there to choose from when someone dies, there is cremation.

Cremation is a process that, through very high heat, turns someone’s body into ashes. This is made possible by temperatures between 1400 and 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, which reduce the body to its basic elements.

How does a cremation service work?

When a body is cremated, the mourners first arrive at the crematorium (the location where the cremation happens), when usually (even though it is not mandatory, and it can be opted out) the funeral takes place. It may be a brief or long ceremony, with the possible presence of prayers, chants, hymns, or even the reading of poems or other things that the deceased would have wanted to be read at their funeral.

Then, finally, the hearse is cremated, with the body being kept hidden from sight by curtains, obscured materials, or by moving it to a different place than the one where the ceremony took place. Once the process is completed, people may want to stay and give their condolences to the deceased’s family and friends.

Later on, a wake may take place, in order to celebrate the life of the dead person. Wakes may happen with the presence of food, beverages, music, and even alcohol and dances, and they can last for briefer or longer periods of time.

Funeral, wake, and the process of cremation services itself may vary from place to place, and they appear very different in various areas of the world. In Vietnam and Japan, for example, there is the tradition to pick the bones that have remained intact after the cremation process.

What to do with the ashes?

It is then possible to take the ashes and put them into a special container called “urn”, in order to keep them at someone’s home, for example on a shelf, or else in a special place like a crypt, or a mausoleum, where they can be entombed. But it is also possible to do other things with them.

For example, it is possible to have them scattered in someplace that was important or relevant for the deceased, or to have them turned into jewelry, or even into a diamond. The choices are really close to endless.

In conclusion, cremation is a way to dispose of a body after someone dies, and the material thing that results from the process, ashes, can be stored in an urn to be kept at someone’s house or in a crypt or mausoleum, scattered in a place that was special for the deceased, or transformed into something as exceptional as a diamond.