Page 2 - Susan Fraser

The tale is famous. After years of searching in the Valley of the Kings, Howard Carter literally struck gold in 1922. Worried that he would run out of financial backing, he pressed one more time. Almost by accident, his team found an opening to a tomb. When Carter finally got inside the tomb of Tutankhamun, he told witnesses what he saw: “Wonderful things.” But that wasn’t the end of the story. In a practice that was performed all over Egypt even into the present day, Carter’s group removed all the treasures. They listed each item carefully and prepared them for relocation out of the country. If we don’t feel a little twinge of guilt every time we visit a museum and see an elaborate mummiform coffin, perhaps we ought to ask ourselves why. We have an interest in the burial practices of the ancient Egyptians. It’s real, tangible evidence of people living many thousands of years ago. But, in our keenness to understand these ancient civilizations, we

The loss of a mother or child can be a pain that people feel for the rest of their lives. On Mother’s Day, grieving families can experience an increase in sadness. By making space for their grief and finding new traditions, they can celebrate Mother’s Day in a way that keeps their love and memories fresh.

A Mother’s Loss of Her Child

Experiencing the death of a loved one is a difficult time for anyone, but going through the death of a child is something that not everyone has to manage in the course of a lifetime. It can leave bereaved parents feeling like there is a void in their lives that others may not recognize or even acknowledge. Losing children, even when the child is an adult, represents for many mothers a loss of the future. In the years to come, they often wonder what the child would be like if they were still alive. Mothers who lose a child may question their status as a parent, especially if their only child died. They may wonder if it is still

People might think that cremation has been an easy choice forever. The truth is more complicated. Cremation has a long and winding history in North America. It grew at a slow pace. Then, in just a handful of decades, it exploded into the most popular choice today.

Burial Traditions Among Native American Peoples

Trying to figure out the beliefs of thousands of distinct groups seems impossible. People develop their own traditions over hundreds or thousands of years, if no one tells them what to do. That means a wide range of experiences will emerge. In some parts of the world, cremation was a widely-used practice for thousands of years. North America was different. Hundreds of native peoples made their world across the large continent. All these people had their own ways. Some archaeologists claim that cremation in North America was rare until recently. In 2008, researchers found an ancient cremation site off the coast of Georgia. This was quite unexpected.

Although regular cremation is definitely popular, many people want something more. As growing numbers of people choose cremation, they start to question the environmental effects of the process. Is there a better way? Recent trends suggest that there is. Alkaline hydrolysis is a newer form of cremation that uses less energy and may be friendlier to the environment. This process is still largely unavailable throughout the United States, but it may one day become the standard.

So many times, an urn begins with an idea. Someone might think about a fond memory they had, or an aspect of their loved one that was particularly beautiful or easy to recall. That winning smile, or even a favorite tattoo, could be recreated on an urn and available for all eternity. We often hold onto an image of a loved one because we want to never forget those little things about them that could be so difficult to hang onto, decades after they leave us. Even in grief, we want to be reminded of these things. It hurts to think of a loved one who is gone, but it hurts more to feel their absence. Placing those images and mementos before our regular sight is one way to keep our memories alive, and our love green.

For an increasing number of people, the decision to cremate is simple. What they may or may not do with the ashes is a different matter entirely. While traditional burial is fairly straightforward, cremation opens up a world of choices for people planning for the future and their families. This decision comes with a variety of new concerns to address. By looking at the legal, religious and moral ramifications surrounding cremation, families can make the best selections for them and their loved ones' final wishes.

Legal Considerations

As cremation trends toward the norm across the United States, critics come out of the chemically-untreated woodwork. Cremation is an unsafe practice, they say. The act of cremation emits dangerous toxins into the environment, and consumes huge quantities of energy simply to turn one body into ashes. While some of these complaints have a small nugget of truth, the misrepresentation of information is striking. Experts claim that cremation and use of biodegradable urns are actually far more environmentally-friendly than a traditional burial, particularly when modern technologies and new approaches are used.

Classifying Cremation

When it comes to the environmental impacts of