From caskets and urns to much more, you can purchase just about anything for use after a cremation and visit to a cemetery in Huntersville, NC. Whether you’re honoring your lost loved one at a cemetery or in a future memorial service, there are products can make your loved one’s cremation and service much more unique, memorable and creative. This creativity helps make the services respectful for the deceased and meaningful for the living. Some of these products are used before the cremation takes place:

• Remembrance Jewelry: Similar to Thumbies, remembrance jewelry holds part of the deceased inside, so you can carry it with you wherever you go. You can use a small lock of hair, cremated remains, or even soil from somewhere meaningful to be placed inside a locket, bracelet or other jewelry piece.
• Cremation Caskets: You do need a rigid container in which the body will be cremated. Crematoriums provide a basic container, but you can opt to purchase a more elaborate or special cremation casket to make the cremation more special.
• Thumbies: A Thumbie is a custom jewelry or pendant piece that creates a lasting imprint of the deceased’s fingerprint, footprint or handprint. Special Thumbie artists use a cast or image of the actual print to create these lovely keepsakes. You can choose different finishes including silver or gold to make the piece even more unique.

You can also find products that allow for personalization after the cremation like urns. You may choose to keep the deceased’s ashes in an urn. There are many different shapes, styles, colors and sizes of urns to choose from, so it’s not that hard to find one that suits your preferences and needs. Some urns are basic but dignified, while others are personalized with engravings, paintings and other decoration. You can also use memorial stationary. Make the cremation service itself even more special with custom stationary featuring photos of the deceased, meaningful quotes, or a simple decoration. You can use this stationary for the guest book at the service, or to write thank you cards on later. You can also find memorial folders, registry books, bookmarks, prayer cards, acknowledgement cards and more.

Finally, there are lots of creative and special ways to put a cremated loved one to rest. These include scattering your loved one’s remains freely outdoors. You may also hire a specialist to scatter them in the ocean or even in the sky. You can also put them to rest in a cemetery or columbarium. You may house the deceased in an outdoor niche above ground designed to hold urns.

These are just a few of the many cremation products available that make it easy for you to plan a creative, respectful and personalized cremation and memorial for your lost loved one. Gethsemane Cemetery and Memorial Garden can help you with all of your Huntersville, NC cemetery needs. We have years of industry experience and can recommend products such as these and many more. Please give us a call today for more information about what we can do for you in your time of loss.

Losing a family member or loved one is never easy. The high cost of cremations and burials in cemeteries in Charlotte, NC and the rest of the country often compounds the stress and pain of a death. Luckily, there are ways you can still have a personalized and special service without spending too much money on cemeteries, burials, and cremations.

Even simple burials in cemeteries can be expensive, not including the costs of services and other products. There is no shame in looking for help with paying for or lowering the cost of cemeteries and cremations, such as preplanning. Check the deceased’s papers and information to see if they made any plans to help pay for their cremation. They might have put in place things such as prepaying programs, funeral insurance, life insurance, and payable-on-death bank accounts.

You can also try fund raising. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your community, neighborhood, friends or other family. You’d be surprised how quickly people will chip in. If you choose to fund raise, social media is also a great tool to make your need known and get more people involved. Don’t be afraid to share any fund raising or write posts about your need.

Get creative with fund raising like:

• Car washes or bake sales
• Church groups or donations
• Memorial funds at the deceased’s workplace or bank
• Crowd funding websites like GoFundMe.com or GiveForward.com

Local, state and even federal government programs can help pay for funerals, burials, and cremations. Check with your local social service, county treasurer, or public fiduciary to see if any systems are in place. These programs have varying requirements, especially since local government budgets are tight, and they are making such programs more difficult to qualify for. Be sure to double check that you are eligible. The Social Security Administration can also provide assistance. Call to report a death and you may be eligible for a lump sum of $225 or other survivor benefits. Other federal programs that can help are Medicare, Medicaid and the Veteran’s Administration, The Bureau of Indian Affairs, and The Railroad Retirement Board.

If you still can’t get enough funding, there are tons of low-cost burial, cremation, funeral and cemetery options you can choose from, including hosting the memorial service at home, the community center, church or other religious establishment, bringing pot-luck food for the service, choosing body donation to a medical school or other organization (Science Care is the world’s largest body donor program), direct cremations, or burying the cremains on family land or a family plot.

If you need more information on any of these tips or would like to learn more about Charlotte, NC cemeteries, Gethsemane Cemetery and Memorial Garden is here to help. We strive to offer well-priced and expert services to make a time of loss easier and less stressful. Please pay us a visit or give us a call to learn more about what we can do for you in your time of loss.

Though its only become recently popular to bury cremated remains in cemeteries in Matthews, NC, the act of cremation is very old. In fact, historians believe that humans started burning their dead as early as 3000 B.C, as they have discovered pottery shards and urns that service as evidence. Cremation became more and more popular around Europe and what we now call the Middle East until Homer’s time, around 800 B.C, when it became the most common disposition method. This rise in cremation is assumed to be because of the growing number of dead from both war and disease.

By 395 A.D, cremation and the when the Roman Empire were at their peaks. In fact, ancient Romans stored cremated remains in decorated urns like we do today. However, the early Christians still practiced traditional Jewish body disposition, which meant burying the dead in cemeteries. The Christians therefore disapproved of cremation in favor of cemeteries.

This proved to be ancient cremation’s downfall, because when Constantine made Christianity the official Roman religion in 400 A.D, the practice almost disappeared in favor of the traditional Jewish burial. Cremation drifted out of history until around 1873 when an Italian professor displayed his new cremation chamber model at the Vienna Exposition. His new invention jump-started the cremation revolution on both sides of the Atlantic. The first modern cremation chamber in the United States was built in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1876 by Dr. Julius LeMoyne, with the second not far behind in Lancaster, PA in 1884. Soon, crematories were being built all across the US, and by the year 1900 there were 20 in operation.

The practice took off even more when, in 1913, Dr. Hugo Erichsen started the Cremation Association of America as a way to spread to word about this modern way of safely and hygienically disposing of bodies. The foundation was originally made up of doctors with concerns about the spread of diseases from whole-body burials to living humans.

This belief and the foundation continued to foster cremation popularity until the 1920s when it was proven that whole body burials, when done properly were just as safe for the public’s health. After that discovery, the Cremation Association of America switched gears and began promoting cremation not as a health choice but as a personal choice. The foundation changed its name to Cremation Association of North America (CANA), in 1975, and is still around today.

Cremation has been becoming more and more popular since the 1980s in America and around the world. This rise is due to a number of factors such as cost, environmental concerns, creativity, religion and more.

While traditional burial is still the most commonly seen disposition method, studies show that might not always be the case. According to CANA, there were over 2,100 crematories in use in the US in 2009 performing over 9,000 cremations a year, and the number is still going up.

This could be because it’s becoming more and more popular to bury cremated remains in cemeteries, like Gethsemane Cemetery and Memorial Garden, a Matthews, NC cemetery. If you want to learn more, please stop by or give us a call today.

Cemeteries in Huntersville, NC are intimidating. First of all, it’s never easy to go through a loss. However, it can be even harder to know how to act in a cemetery or funeral home. From how to dress and where to stand to what to say and everything in between, it’s hard to know exactly what the proper etiquette is, especially when it comes to being respectful of the proceedings and family members.

This guide can help you get started on knowing how to act in a cemetery:

• Attire – Cemeteries and funeral homes are serious places, and your attire should be as well. Unless otherwise noted or dictated by culture, keep your clothing conservative and in darker colors.
• Distractions – Turn off your phone. If you don’t want to turn if off completely, at least put it on silent or Do Not Disturb for the duration of the service. If you must take a call, do step outside as looking down at your phone or checking messages inside the funeral home is disrespectful. Along those same lines, people often do not bring children to funeral homes for fear they will be a distraction or disruption. Use your best judgment with your child, but toddlers and babies should generally stay at home with a sitter.
• Seating – The first two rows of seats are oftentimes reserved for the close friends and family, but other than that the seating plans are usually open. Try and remain seated throughout the service, unless dictated by the MC. This same basic rule applies to a graveside service, as the chairs right by the grave are typically reserved for family.
• Religion – Cemeteries can be religious places during services, and this may make some people uncomfortable. If the ceremony has religious aspects that do not match your own or make you uncomfortable, simply remain silent and respectfully engaged. Remember, you are there to honor the deceased not make a religious statement.
• Communication – There might not be many chances for you to speak with the family of the deceased at the cemetery or funeral home, but if you do have an opportunity be sure to take it. All you need to do is express sympathy for their loss. If you knew the deceased well and feel it’s appropriate, you may say something more personal about the deceased. However, keep it short and simple as the family most likely has lots of other guests to attend to.

Use your best judgment, and always try and follow the family’s lead when it comes to etiquette. When in doubt, lean in towards the conservative side. Do keep in mind that the above are general guidelines and do not necessarily apply to every cemetery experience.

Do you have more questions about Huntersville, CA cemetery etiquette or services? Gethsemane Cemetery and Memorial Garden is here to help. We have years of experience we would love to put at your disposal. Give us a call or stop by today to learn more about what we can do for you in your time of loss.