Where do you want to go after you die? Here are 13 different types of burials you should consider before you pick your final resting place.
Death is something that very few people want to think about.
However, tomorrow is never guaranteed! So, it’s never a bad time to start thinking about how you might want to be buried.
However, there a plethora of burial options and alternatives to choose from these days, so you are sure to find a way to go out in style for you or someone you care about who has recently passed.
If you’re interested in different types of burials that will give you some variety when choosing your final resting place, check out our list of 13 different types.
Space Burials
If you’ve ever felt a deep connection to the cosmos, a space burial might pique your interest!
Space burials are provided by a number of companies, such as Memorial Spaceflights and Elysium Space, and help to launch an individual’s cremated remains into space.
There are a variety of options to choose from when it comes to space burials. You can have some cremated remains delivered to the surface of the moon, launched into Earth’s orbit, or even sent into deep space.
Compressed into a Diamond
It’s now possible to extract carbon from a deceased individual’s ashes and create a diamond with it!
About 1-5% of the carbon in ashes remain after the cremation process. The remaining carbon is then isolated in a laboratory, and then under high pressure, the carbon converts into graphite. The graphite is put into high-pressure, high-temperature machines and begin its transformation into a diamond.
Eternal Reefs
Eternal Reefs is an organization that transforms an individual’s remains into a structure that can aid in marine life development and restoration.
Eternal Reefs mixes the cremated remains of an individual into a cement mixture in order to make an environmentally-friendly artificial reef structure. Their usefulness can be seen almost instantaneously. Growth can be seen in as little as a few weeks, and fish will begin to migrate onto the reef balls as soon as they have been situated on the ocean floor.
The entire process with Eternal Reefs is intended to be a positive one. Loved ones of the deceased can help to mix the cremated remains into the cement mixture, and they can even leave handprints or write messages in the wet cement. The reef balls will become permanent fixtures and will continue to support marine life forever, allowing the deceased to live on in a truly beautiful and unique way.
Traditional Burials
Many people find comfort in traditional burials and funerary services. There’s nothing wrong in sticking with what you know! Especially when there are so many resources available, such as the one on this page, that allow you to streamline the process and make sure your family and loved ones are able to honor the deceased properly by pre-planning it all.
Traditional burials typically involve a casket, a church service, and a reception following the service and burial. These kinds of burials often serve as a way to bring loved ones together and commemorate the deceased in unison.
Donating to Science
Some people may choose to avoid being buried or sending their body in a rather peaceful and non-intrusive manner. If so, donating one’s body to a scientific institution may be the answer.
This option could be perfect for people who want to provide educational opportunities to budding students or for those who want to have their organs harvested and passed on to someone in need of an organ donor.
Cremation Art
If you have an artist in your family who can commemorate a loved one through the creation of art, consider mixing cremated remains into paint and creating a one-of-a-kind piece of art with the paint.
This type of “burial” gives you an object that you and your loved ones can look upon with warmth, knowing that it holds special meaning and is a physical representation of the deceased.
Burials at Sea
Burials at sea are commonplace for people like naval officers but is an option available to anyone who may feel a connection to nature or want to be sent off in a less dramatic and elaborate manner.
There are private organizations that can assist in burials at sea by providing private charters and a certificate.
Scattering Gardens
Scattering gardens are a nice compromise between traditional burials and alternative burials.
If having a place that loved ones can visit, as one can with traditional cemeteries, is something that appeals to you, scattering gardens could be the perfect fit for you or someone you love.
Scattering gardens are gardens with the intended purpose of being fertilized and scattered with the ashes of the deceased. This type of garden allows for loved ones of the deceased to be able to visit and feel connected to the visit and the passed individual that they are “visiting”.
Become a Tree
Companies such as Living Urn are giving people the opportunity to put down roots even after death.
Living Urn provides its customers with BioUrns, which are filled with the deceased individual’s cremated remains, then topped with a growing agent, soil, and wood chips in order to kick start the tree growth. The seedling is added atop all of this, and the tree is now ready to begin growing from the urn!
Fireworks
Usually, funerals are viewed as very somber, sad events to attend. However, many people like to view funerals as a celebration of life rather than a gloomy get-together.
If that sounds up your alley, you might consider having your ashes incorporated into fireworks.
Many of the organizations that create these unique fireworks offer different packages, ranging from big and dramatic to gentle and simplistic fireworks as a final sendoff.
It’s definitely a must for people who want to go out with a bang…literally!
Cryonics
Definitely one of the most expensive alternatives to burials, cryonics has a pretty well-known reputation as one of the more outlandish ways to deal with deceased individuals.
Cryonics involves freezing a deceased person at incredibly low temperatures with the hope that future technology can bring them back from the dead. It’s often used for people suffering from some kind of illness, with the hope that future healthcare will be able to help them.
Blown Glass
There are several businesses that turn one’s cremated remains into a beautiful blown glass piece.
The glassblowers will take a small amount of the cremated remains and incorporate them into the glass blowing process. The finished product is a beautifully swirled piece of glass, which you can often get in the form of paperweights or a decorative orb.
Become a Record
A company based out of the UK called Andvinyly will press your cremated ashes into a vinyl record with 24 minutes of recording time available. You can choose music, submit your own recording, or settle for simple silence.
Don’t Make a Grave Mistake
Choosing how you want to make your final departure from the mortal world is exceptionally difficult, but it’s good to know there are so many options available out there to choose from!
Hopefully, you’ve discovered a few new alternatives to burials that sparked your interest, or perhaps you’ve realized that traditional burials are more your style. Whatever you decide on, be it for you or someone you love, it will serve to preserve and celebrate the memory of life!