Cremation Memorials

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A Staple Of The Memorial Industry

Cremation memorials, with the rise in popularity of cremation itself, have become an important staple in the memorial industry, perhaps as important as headstones and caskets. Cremation memorials have been in use for centuries to memorialize the dead, but, as cremation has become more prevalent in recent years, they have become amazingly varied. Traditionally, cremation memorials were simple, vase-like pieces of pottery in which a cremated person's ashes were stored and displayed for generations. And, while such traditional cremation memorials are still abundant today, cremation memorials also today take on an amazing array of styles, materials, and even purposes. Though they all have the same central purpose, storing the ashes of the deceased, today's cremation memorials are also all as unique as the people they memorialize.

The tradition of cremation memorials dates back to at least the Ancient Greeks who made cremation urns from a special type of urn called a lekythos. In the days of the Roman Empire, these cremation memorials were often displayed together in a collective tomb called a columbarium.

Cremation memorials, of course, are often still housed in columbariums, but it is also common to see private residences play host to cremation memorials, too. Cremation memorial urns are also commonly buried in standard graves – often atop the grave of a loved-one. And then cremation memorials often come in the form of special, smaller-than-average- "keepsake" cremation urns that are often used by far flung families who want to share the ashes of their loved ones. And, for those concerned about providing environmentally friendly cremation memorials, special biodegradable urns are often used today for the disposal of cremation ashes.

Whatever their ultimate setting and purpose, cremation memorials are particularly appropriate for memorializing a loved-one because they can be personalized. The unique décor of cremation urns can help cremation memorials speak volumes about the people they memorialize, assuring that memories stay alive for generations to come.

Urns for cremation memorials come in a wide variety of materials and styles. They can be made of wood, bronze, metal, marble, glass, or ceramic. Different materials, of course, are required for different purposes. If they are to be buried, cremation memorials are usually made of bronze or some other metal. If cremation memorials are to be part of a beautifully display at a funeral or in a home, urns are often made of glass, wood, or ceramic. And if cremation memorials are to be outdoors – or part of a columbarium -- urns can be made of marble.

Urns are often styled for very specific cremation memorial uses. Elaborately decorated cremation urns are used when cremation memorials are to be displayed in residences or during funerals. Smaller cremation urns are used when cremation memorials are for children or infants. Some cremation urns are designed specifically to be cremation memorials for two people. And still other cremation memorials are designed and decorated to follow important religious, military, or family themes.