Cremation prevails in Hinduism and Buddhism, and burial prevails in Confucianism, Islam and Christianity. Since the 20th century, cremation has been advocated all over the world to save scarce cultivated land [2]. At present, the cremation rate in Chinese mainland is 53%, that in the United States is 26%, that in Britain is 70%, and that in Japan is over 90%.
Modern cremation procedure
Check to make sure that all the decorations of the body have been removed. This kind of operation will not be performed in Britain. Please see below for details. Cremation ceremonies are usually held in crematoriums, which include one or more cremators or "retreats". The cremator is an industrial furnace, and the temperature can reach 870-980℃ (1600-1800 f), which ensures that the corpse can be disintegrated. Crematorium can be a part of a church or funeral home, or an independent facility or service provided by a cemetery.
The fuels of modern cremators during cremation include natural gas and propane. However, coal and coke were used until the early 1960s. Many cremators are adjustable control systems, which are used to monitor the condition of the cremators during cremation.
Cremators are only allowed to cremate one corpse at a time, which is also the law of many countries, including the United States.
The place to put the body is called "return". They used refractory bricks to resist the high temperature. In order to maintain its heat resistance, these bricks are usually replaced every five years. Modern cremators are controlled by computers to ensure their correct and safe use. For example, the door of a cremator can only be opened after it reaches the working temperature. The coffin should be pushed back as soon as possible to avoid the loss of heat from the stove through the open door at the top. Using the loader (overhead trolley) can quickly push the coffin into the furnace and obliquely push the coffin into the cremation furnace. Some crematoriums allow family members to watch the process. This is sometimes due to religious ceremonies, such as traditional Hindu funeral ceremonies [6].
Most cremators have standard sizes. However, some big cities will use some oversized cremators, which can handle the dead weighing 200 kilograms (44 1 pound). But not all overweight people can use this method, and some must be buried. In addition, many large crematoriums will set up a small cremator to deal with young or premature children.
Main container
The remains need to be carefully filtered to ensure that they are all small bodies ready for cremation. First, they will be put in a box, which can be a simple cardboard box or a wooden coffin. Most coffin manufacturers will provide a coffin specially used for cremation. In addition, you can also choose a wooden coffin with a built-in carton, which looks the same as a traditional coffin. After the funeral, the inner box will be taken out of the coffin and cremated, so that the outer shell of the coffin can be reused. In addition, the funeral home also provides coffin rental services. They will use traditional coffins at funerals and then move them to another box for cremation. Rental coffins are sometimes designed with removable bed boards and linings, so you just need to replace them every time you use them.
Reasons for choosing cremation
Cremation can save a lot of cemetery space. Some people choose cremation for personal reasons. But for some people, because they don't like traditional burial, the decomposition process is slow in the long run [13]. Some people think they prefer cremation because their bodies can be disposed of immediately [14]. Others think that cremation can be used as a way to simplify the funeral ceremony. These people think that traditional funeral will make the funeral process more complicated, so they choose cremation to make the service as simple as possible.
In addition, cost factors often make cremation more attractive. Generally speaking, the cost of cremation is lower than the traditional burial service [14], especially direct cremation. As long as the body is cremated as soon as possible according to law, there is no other service form. However, the cost of cremation service varies greatly, mainly depending on how the deceased or their families wish to carry out the cremation ceremony. Cremation can be carried out in traditional funeral services, which increases the cost. The use of coffins also affects costs.
Bury:
Burial, one of the burial styles. Also known as burial. Popular all over the world. It came into being in the middle of Paleolithic Age. In western Europe, most tombs are the earliest known tombs. During the primitive commune period, all clans had fixed cemeteries. In slave society and feudal society, every family (clan) also has a fixed cemetery. Generally, a corpse is buried in a tomb, but several people or clans (families) are buried together. Most graves have coffins and sacrifices of different textures. In class society, there are many martyrs in the graves of the ruling class, and some people even die. With the development of society, burial has evolved into various forms. The main forms of tombs in China are: vertical cave tombs (pit tombs), which were popular in the late Paleolithic period; From the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty, stone tombs and urn coffins were very popular. Sarcophagus burial and masonry tomb have been popular since the Warring States Period. Cave tombs began in the Warring States Period and prevailed in the Six Dynasties and even the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Guo Mu's tomb, which began in Shang Dynasty, is rare after Han Dynasty. From the end of Warring States to the beginning of Han Dynasty, ship burial was popular in Sichuan.
Funeral etiquette
The funeral etiquette is complicated, which is one of its important characteristics. In ancient times, people's funerals were very simple, with no graves, rituals and sacrifices. After entering the class society, the funeral methods have become increasingly complex to meet the needs of the ruling class and ethics. Superstition has become increasingly strong, forming a unique funeral etiquette in the world. It is required to "bury with ceremony, sacrifice with ceremony", "coffin must be heavy, food and clothing must be abundant, embroidery must be complicated, mountain dragons must be huge", "body hair and skin, parents' suffering, dare not damage". This traditional concept of funeral still has a certain influence on people and has become a major psychological and ideological obstacle to the implementation of funeral reform.
The benefits of burial
First of all, it will not pollute the environment.
Second, the area remains unchanged after cremation.
Thirdly, burial has been popular in China for a long time. As a performance of returning to nature, it conforms to the traditional cultural spirit of the Han nationality.