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BURIAL FAQs



          Burial Services                                        deceased, a columbarium provides friends and

                                                                 family and place to come to mourn and visit.
          Traditionally, a burial service involves a visita-     Columbarium walls do not take up a lot of
          tion, followed by a funeral service in a church,       space and it is a cheaper alternative to a burial
          or other place of worship. The casket is typical-      plot.
          ly presented at both of these events, and it is
          your decision to have the casket open or not.          Natural cemeteries: Natural cemeteries, also
          You have the option of having the remains              known as eco-cemeteries or green cemeteries
          interred (earth burial), or it may be entombed in      are a new style of cemetery set aside for natural
          a crypt inside a mausoleum (above ground               burials. Natural burials are motivated by the
          burial). Family or religious traditions are often      desire to be environmentally aware, although
          a factor for choosing burial. Decisions need to        natural burials can be performed at any type of
          be made on whether the body needs to be                cemetery, they are usually done in a natural
          embalmed, what kind of casket to use, what             woodland area. Conventional markings such as
          cemetery to use and what to put on the grave-          headstones are generally replaced with a tree or
          stone.                                                 a bush or a placement of natural rock.


          Cemetery types                                         Burial FAQs

          Monumental cemetery:  A monumental ceme-
          tery is the traditional style of cemetery where        What is opening and closing and why
          headstones or other monuments made of marble           is it so expensive?                                             opening and closing of the grave is conducted          In a hundred years will this cemetery
          or granite rise vertically above the ground.           Opening and closing fees can include up to and                  by cemetery grounds personnel only.                    still be there?
          There are countless different types of designs         beyond 50 separate services provided by the                                                                            We think of cemetery lands as being in perpetu-
          for headstones, ranging from very simple to            cemetery.  Typically, the opening and closing                   Why is having a place to visit so                      ity. There are cemeteries throughout the world
          large and complex.                                     fee includes administration and permanent                       important?                                             that have been in existence for hundreds of
                                                                 record   keeping    (determining    ownership,                  To  remember  and  to  be  remebered  are  natural     years.
          Lawn cemetery: A lawn cemetery is where each           obtaining permission and the completion of                      human needs. A permanent memorial in a ceme-
          grave is marked with a small commemorative             other documentation which may be required,                      tery provides a focal point for rememberance           How  soon  after  or  how  long  after  a
          plaque that is place horizontally at the head of       entering the interment particulars in the inter-                and memorializing the deceased.  Throughout            death must an individual be buried?
          the grave at ground-level. Families can still be       ment register, maintaining all legal files);                    human history, memorialization of the dead has         There is no law that states a specific time frame
          involved in the design and the information con-        opening and closing the grave (locating the                     been a key component of almost every culture.          for burial. Considerations that will affect time-
          tained on the plaque, in most cases, however,          grave and laying out the boundaries, excavating                 Psychologists say that rememberance practices,         line include the need to secure all permits and
          the plaques are a standard design.                     and filling the interment space); installation                  from the funeral or memorial service to perma-         authorizations, notification of family and
                                                                 and removal of the lowering device; placement                   nent memorialization, serve an important emo-          friends, preparation of cemetery site and
          Mausoleum: A mausoleum  is  an  external  free         and removal of artificial grass dressing and                    tional function for survivors by helping them          religious considerations. Public health laws
          standing  building constructed  as  a  monument        coco-matting at the grave site, levelling, tamp-                bring closure and allowing the healing process         may have limitations on the maximum length of
          enclosing the interment space or burial cham-          ing, re-grading and sodding the grave site and                  to begin. Providing a permanent resting place          time allowed to pass prior to final disposition.
          ber of a deceased person or people. A mausole-         levelling and resodding the grave if the earth                  for the deceased is a dignified treatment for a        Contact your local funeral provider for more
          um may be considered a type of tomb or the             settles.                                                        loved one’s mortal remains, which fulfills the         details.
          tomb may be considered to be within the mau-                                                                           natural human desire for memorialization.
          soleum. The most famous mausoleum is the Taj           Can we dig our own grave to avoid the                                                                                  Does a body have to be embalmed
          Mahal in India.                                        charge for opening and closing?                                 What happens when a cemetery runs                      before it is buried?
                                                                 The actual opening and closing of the grave is                  out of land?                                           No.  Embalming  is a choice  depending on
          Columbarium: Columbarium walls are general-            just one component of the opening and closing                   When a cemetery runs out of land, it will con-         factors like if there is an open casket viewing of
          ly reserved for cremated remains.  While               fee. Due to safety issues which arise around the                tinue to operate and serve the community. Most         the body or if there is to be extended time
          cremated remains can be kept at home by fami-          use of machinery on cemetery property and the                   cemeteries have crematoriums and some histor-          between death and interment. Public health
          lies or scattered somewhere significant to the         protection of other gravesites, the actual                      ic cemeteries even offer guided tours.                 laws may require it if the body is transported.





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