Cremation in times of pandemic

Everything has changed about life as we knew it since the pandemic started in 2020. Due to new restrictions, the families and loved ones of victims haven’t been able to safely gather to celebrate their lives. Which in turn, has also led to a significant increase in how many cremations have taken place. Many even argue that cremation service Glenview, IL has become a trend. Either way, Chicagoland Cremation Options has concluded that the increase in cremation rates during the coronavirus outbreak is part of an overall upward trend.

The U.S. Postal Service delivering ashes due to COVID19 restrictions

More people are opting for cremation, accelerating the shift from burying bodies. And with out-of-state relatives unable to travel to pick up the cremated remains because of health risks, the US Postal Service has been increasingly delivering ashes to doorsteps. Before the pandemic, we never heard of the post office delivering ashes. But people have been handling death in new ways. Cremations started rising in the early 1960s. All because the Roman Catholic church began to allow it as a standard funeral practice. In the early 1970s, just a 5% of people who died was cremated, which has since then turned into a 1% to 2% a year.

Zoom saves the day again

Human beings are quite good at adaptation, and right now there doesn’t seem to be a better time to adapt than in the middle of a pandemic. The many regulations that came along only made it more stressful at the time to say your goodbyes but instead of staying there complaining, new ways were implemented. If people wanted to still experience the ceremony, then the ceremony needed to change. Eulogies started being delivered over Zoom. Memorial services are now held months after the death, and that is if it’s held at all. We have come to learn as a society, maybe not in the easiest way, that the most important part of a cremation ceremony that honors our dead, it’s not the social part. At least it’s not restricted to physical presence. Technology has made it possible to attend the services that we really mean to attend. Shedding away much of the social constructs that are adopted to attempt to be good and normal by doing things the right way.

Creating new traditions is part of adaptation

The coronavirus pandemic has not only affected the way we interact with each other, it has also impacted our economics. Typical cremation service Glenview, IL cost significantly less than a funeral with a burial. Which is another big reason for people to opt more for it? So even with something so delicate as honoring the memory of our dead, we see ourselves in the difficult position of having to be practical as well. Interestingly, the fact that with cremation, family members can bring remains home or bury them in family plots or even have memorial services during reunions or other get togethers; makes it the more appealing.