Death is a tragic event that every single human must encounter at one point in their lives. It can be emotionally and physically taxing to the individuals left behind by the deceased ones. Not only would they have to deal with the loss or the emptiness of the passing, but they would also have to address the matter of choosing how to lay to rest the dead loved one.
Different cultures from all over the world have their own ways of dealing with death. The famous ancient Egyptians have their own unique way of preserving their loved ones who have passed on by the process of mummification, a long step away from the funerals in Singapore today. Today, however, most people only consider two options: burial or cremation.
Each of the option comes with its own pros and cons.
For the more traditional burial, people have been more accustomed to it for so long. There are cultures that believe that anything else that’s done to the body of the deceased is a form of desecration to it. The natural process of decomposition must be allowed to take place. This is also the choice for people who uphold certain religious beliefs, especially the Christians who believe in the symbolic burial of Christ. There are funerals in Singapore that offer this service. That is only as far as advantages go as the traditional burial has plenty of inconveniences, including but not limited to, having to deal with fees relating to the upkeep of the grave itself and the fact that each grave takes up land area.
More and more people are now turning to cremation, as some funerals in Singapore are held, for its long string of conveniences. First, it is basically less expensive than the traditional burial because it doesn’t need any additional fees concerning land space. There is also the matter of not having to pay for an embalmer and the freedom to do with the deceased’s ashes, whether to scatter it in a place of choice by family members or keep it in an urn to stay with the living members, once the cremation is over. The only notable disadvantage of cremation is that, for some family members, it does not satisfy their grief as the process is very business-like.
In the end, what determines the family members’ choice will always be the method of how they wish to remember their deceased loved ones. Some may prefer to go about the grief in the most efficient way possible, while there are still some that choose to relish the last moments they have with the loved one before their final goodbye. What defines the choice may be a great number of reasons, but it will always depend on the surviving relatives’ capabilities to copethat will lead them to their decision.