The End Of The Cemetery

When I saw the title of a newspaper article, 'Are Cemeteries Dying Out', I had to read it. Whoever composed that one has a sense of humor, and as we know, having a sense of humor about death is probably the best approach to it. The article posited the idea that cemeteries, once 'the dearest place on earth' to loved ones of the parted, are now becoming as forgotten as the pay telephone. I have a mausoleum space waiting, so this will not impact me. But few people today visit grave sites and people tend to be more mobile today. Families often live far apart, making it difficult to tend to a family grave site.

In addition, a traditional burial and years of maintenance of a grave are costly. When I last visited the family Mausoleum in New Orleans, I remember chatting with a worker there who helped me find the family crypt location. He told me that after more than 40 years working there that he sees fewer visits and fewer resources put into the tombs. Cremation is winning the burial battle today. More than one out of two people in Germany these days opt for cremation and an urn burial.

That's an incredible change in an old world society that just a few years ago had religious bans against cremation emitted from the Catholic Church that stated that cremation was a mortal sin. Now the church approves and assists in cremation. In several European  countries as well as the United States, families can take home the cremated remains of their loved ones. Hmmm Putting ornery Uncle Harold in a vase is kind of appealing. Scattering ashes of the deceased has become so common that some people actually have cremation shattering parties.

What's happening to some cemetery owners is bankruptcy. They can not fill their unused burial grounds anymore, and the economics of the business requires continued new occupancy. Funeral services are much more restrained affairs or are near death in many countries. It does make sense that burials in cemeteries would follow that lead.

When you add in the nutty global warming advocates who claim ecological damage from cemeteries, the fact that tradition has been lost to trendiness in so many aspects of life  (and death), visiting the family tomb might soon be replaced more often with glancing at the cremation urn on the fireplace. Perhaps redoing the cemetery to make it less like a Dracula movie venue and more an interactive place for people to feel joy rather than sadness, could be the survival tactic for cemeteries. But don't bet your life on it!