Death's Apprentice

And don’t call them “ashes” either.

Want to know why?

First of all, ashes aren’t ashes.

In “western” culture, what remains after a body is cremated via flame is mostly just bone.

The container that the body was in when it went into the retort (the furnace used for cremations) will mostly disappear, unless it’s very heavy wood.

A cardboard box or simple cremation container is going to virtually disappear though, because of the very high temperatures (over 1000c).

What’s left behind are bones, and often medical metal/implants/fillings.

Next, everything gets left to cool, then the bones are separated out and placed in a cremulator.

(This is a big processor that grinds the bones down into what we think of as “ashes”).

The metals are typically unrecoverable, they will be recycled. In Canada , you mostly can’t get this material back, I’ve learned that in some crematories in other parts of the world you can.

After coming through the cremulation process, cremated remains will be placed in a temporary urn or in a container (or containers) supplied by the family.

BONUS FACT: you don’t have to buy this from the funeral home. You can use anything you want, though if you’re placing the remains in a cemetery there MAY be size or material restrictions to keep in mind.

The term “cremated remains” is respectful and it’s accurate.

Cremains is literally a diminishment. When we are handling “ashes”, we are in fact handling human remains.

That deserves to be front-of-mind. There is nothing we should diminish when we care for the dead, period.

So tell me: did anything shift for you here? What is your preferred term? Are you going to join me over here on team Cremated Remains?

The pirate ship isn’t made up, by the way!!

What kinds of flowers would you have at your funeral?