Make a circle on the ground Scatter the ashes into a circle in your garden or a local park, then ask friends and family members to step into the circle and say a few words about your loved one. You can then rake the ashes to spread them out across the earth.
Cremation occurs at such a hot temperature all micro-organisms are destroyed, and the remaining ashes are inert. After cremation there are no public health risks associated with handling ashes.
Your loved one's ashes don't have to stay together either. Families can choose to split the ashes of the deceased among the wider family, where the individual families can choose what they want to do with them.
The law considers ashes to be the same as a body, so is unwilling to rule for separating them amongst different parties.
There's nothing wrong with keeping a loved one's ashes in the house.
A common question that we find in the cremation diamond industry is do ashes have an expiration date? The short answer is they don't; at least not in our lifetime. It would take around one million years for ashes to dissolve since they are made solely of inorganic material.
In most cases, cremated remains are odourless. They may have a slightly metallic odour or some people say they smell somewhat like incense in some cases. However, it is common for ashes to have no distinct smell. Nonetheless, they can take on the smell of the container or cremation urn they are in.
The actual ashes are thus useless as they will not contain DNA. It is the bones and teeth that could potentially hold some DNA viable for analysis. However, after the cremation, the bones and teeth left behind are turned into a find powder (a process known as pulverization).
ashes to ashes, dust to dust [Rel.]
A phrase from the burial service in the Book of Common Prayer: 'we therefore commit this body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.
A 12th-century missal, a ritual book with instructions on how to celebrate the Eucharist, indicates the words used when putting ashes on the forehead were: “Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” The phrase echoes God's words of reproach after Adam, according to the narrative in the Bible, ...
Is there energy in cremation ashes? The truth is, there is an essence of your loved one that lingers with the cremation ashes. While it may not be a consciousness, it is a little of their energy that stays behind, almost like someone's perfume that lingers in the air even after they have left the room.
Are All of the Ashes Returned After Cremation? If you work with a reputable establishment, all the cremains are returned to the family after the process is complete. There may be isolated particles that become lost within the crematorium chamber, but this is usually a negligible amount.
How long does a cremation process take? Cremations last between one and three hours with cooling taking a further one or two hours. This depends on cremation temperatures, the size of the deceased, and coffin material.
Bones are made of various acids, minerals, and salts, which means they're heavier than many people expect. How heavy the ashes are will depend on the person who's died. Men and young adults have the most solid bones. Women, children and elderly people's bones are usually less solid.
We use the identification provided by the facility or place of death, often a photograph provided by the family, for visual identification along with a uniquely numbered metal identification disk which is assigned to your loved one once he/she enters our care.
Ashes will typically be returned from a funeral home or crematorium in a plastic bag and placed inside of a temporary container (typically made from cardboard or plastic). Attached to the bag you can typically find a metal ID tag, which be sure to keep (if you wish) after transferring the ashes to another urn.
The average amount of ash which will remain after the cremation of an adult is between 183 to 213 Cubic Inches, which is about 3 to 3.5 Litres.
If the metal urn is sealed with wax or adhesive, try to open it by soaking a cotton swab in fingernail polish remover or an epoxy solvent. Repeatedly run the swab along the sealed portion of the urn. You might have to wiggle the lid several times or use a flathead screwdriver to open the urn.
Also known as commingling, mixing cremated remains is illegal unless it is specifically requested by the deceased. This simply comes down to a matter of personal preference of the deceased. Most cremation chambers will not mix the remains of your loved ones—they'll usually leave that up to the family to do.
Choose a classic funeral urn or a modern urn for ashes
An ashes urn is a receptacle for keeping the cremated remains of a person who has passed away. They can be permanent containers for cremated ashes if, for example, you want to keep the urn with your loved one's remains in your family home, a columbarium, or crypt.
So, if they wanted to remain in an urn undisturbed, opening it might cause a problem. But just opening an urn isn't bad luck.
Keeping the ashes of your loved one in your home is one of the most sensitive things you could do, as it's a great way to honor them and their life. You can store the ashes in the beautifully constructed cremation urn and display it in your home, or opt for a cremation urn designed for burials—the choice is all yours.