Although some may think that death is a very common event, no one can know just how much a funeral could cost unless they experience making funeral arrangements themselves.

A tradition funeral arrangement costs around $5,000 or more if your add acknowledgement cards, funeral flowers, burial vaults, transportation and other extra options. Some arrangements could go as high as $15,000 without the family members knowing due to high emotions over the death of a loved one.

Most people have no idea in making funeral arrangements. For this reason, majority of people dealing with a loved one’s death find it difficult to make decisions on funeral services. To prevent this from happening, many people are making funeral arrangements for themselves or their loved ones without paying in advance.

Things To Consider About Funeral Arrangements

When shopping for funerals, it is important that each service provider give you an accurate and updated price list when you visit or call them. This list should include different options for arrangements and prices of each option.

Although most people who are making funeral arrangements rely on their decision according to the family’s location, reputation or tradition, this may be a costly choice since you are only limiting your options from these factors without comparing prices. For this reason, it is practical to compare prices before settling on a particular funeral arrangement.

When a funeral home offers you a catalog and pricelist, make sure it includes a general price list, a list of fees for outer burial containers and a casket price list. By examining these fees, you could estimate your total costs for the funeral arrangement.

A general pricelist should list down each item with its corresponding prices. It should include the prices for all funeral arrangement options such as funeral director service, transportation and preparation of the body, fees for the facilities and staff as well as additional flowers, personalized music and providing of obituary notices or acknowledgement cards. The general pricelist should also include fees for alternative funeral arrangements, such as immediate burial and direct cremation.

The casket, on the other hand, can be the most expensive item in a traditional arrangement, costing up to $10,000 or more depending on the style and material (plastic, wood, metal or fiberglass) of the casket. For this reason, you should first compare casket prices with other sources because you have the right to buy from any outside casket provider you like.

When you make funeral arrangements in advance, not only can you save hundreds of dollars, you can also spare your family members with additional problems when unplanned deaths in the family occur. 

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The world has a variety of ways to pay tribute to the deceased and as a result has just as much variety in burial ceremonies. These ceremonies are as unique as the cultures adopting them. Almost all funerals involve religious and cultural beliefs in as many ways as there are cultures. The ancient Egyptians had unique beliefs when it came to burying their dead. They believed that the dead need all the amenities the living have. Affluent Egyptians would commonly bury utensils, furniture, weapons, ornaments and even servants to follow the deceased into the afterlife. Even with such bizarre customs the Egyptians employed other customs not much different than the ones we use today. Caskets are one such example of a carryover from the Egyptian bereavement customs to the customs accessed today for death.

Burials are heavy with sentiment, and that emotion follows every aspect of the burial, including the casket. Decorating the casket with flowers and engravings or ornaments imbedded is a well known practice of the day. Preparing the body for the casket is part of the complete process as well. Bathing and clothing the body has been an ancient practice as has embalming the body with chemicals and perfumes and placing the body in a specially designed casket. Caskets come in all shapes, sizes and colors with prices to match, and can even be purchased online.

With the emotion that is involved, care must be taken to find the casket that best honors the loved one. As a result there is a variety of caskets to choose from, up to 20 categories of good quality caskets within the undertaking business. These different categories are created by distinctions such as wood types. As an example of the distinctions possible, the different kinds of wood that are used are ash wood, cherry wood, mahogany, oak wood, and maple wood. The use of wood is well known as it decomposes with time and allows the body to decompose as well. Caskets must be able to cater to a range, including the unfortunate sizing for infants; there are also accommodations for size exemplified with the large majesty size casket. Another distinction would be in the form of military specialization. The US burial management services have their own special categories of burial caskets such as military, religious, art, and custom-designed.

As for the procedure before the casket, the details should be looked after by the undertaker. Undertakers collect the body from the home or hospital, and then they bath and embalm the body based on the family’s wishes. These services are specific to the burial plan chosen and paid for by the family of the deceased. The casket containing the body is placed in a chapel and then decorated with flowers and candles. These burial caskets may be closed or open to allow the family to have a last look at the deceased. This is referred to as the visitation service and is presided over by a religious figure of the community.

What makes a Jewish casket different is the orthodoxy of their funeral procedures. Their funerals are very straightforward as are the caskets. Jewish burial caskets are usually black without any sort of embellishment. Part of the Jewish orthodoxy involves not allowing the dead body to be seen. The main intention behind this is to honor the dead. Another peculiarity, Jewish burial caskets are designed to decompose fast along with the body as per the religious belief from dust to dust. Any form of special material used in making a casket will delay the decomposing process, which is against Jewish religious belief. This is the reason embalming of the body is forbidden in the Jewish community. A Jewish burial is mainly concerned with consoling the bereaved and respectfully laying the deceased at rest.

In closing, what is most significant is to find the most appropriate way to honor your loved one based upon your own background and traditions whether it be by orthodoxy and tradition, or by the way the funeral is arranged, or by the casket chosen.

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When we talk of caskets, we mean funeral caskets. The word casket is the derivative of Greek word kophinos. That explains why word coffin is in use is some parts of the world. To some Americans, there still exists a difference between a casket and a coffin. Coffin thus is a hexagonal or an octagonal box tapering at one end and used for burial. A simple rectangular box with split lid used for viewing the deceased is a casket.

Cultural and Geographical Variance

Although, most of the countries practice almost one form in exclusivity, it varies in some others with individual cemeteries. Ornaments, stipple crosses and Masonic symbols which are collectively called as fittings and organized inside drapery customize caskets.

Judaism stipulates plain wooden caskets with no metal parts whatsoever with wooden pegs in place of nails. Japan and China prefers scented non decaying woods like cedar, sugi, cypress etc. Africans prefer caskets made in various funny shapes such as vehicles, airplanes etc.

Modern Caskets

Modern casket manufacturers have innovative and protective caskets on sale; for example airtight caskets with gasket beading on lids. But let you not get misled by the phrase protective caskets, no casket will preserve bodies instead it fosters anaerobic decomposition which means the decomposed and liquefied body tissues remain inside until they are exhumed.

You might have come across transparent caskets occasionally. These are made of acrylic or Perspex material and are refrigerated with battery operated units at their bottoms. No wonder, these are used as transit coffins when the bodies of deceased VVIPs or kept for more than a couple of days for public viewing.

Buying Caskets

Buying caskets can be a challenging ordeal that comes during trying circumstances. It can be a tremendous help to be informed about options and price ranges beforehand. You can buy a casket from a licensed funeral service provider or from a manufacturer. But you should be aware of, in your desperate minute is, some manufacturers don’t sell their produce directly but to licensed funeral homes. Funeral homes sell caskets to family members of the deceased person as a part of their funeral service.

US Federal Law, requires funeral homes to accept the caskets provided by the members of the deceased persons’ families. They are obligated to accept caskets even if they are delivered directly by the manufacturers and in both the cases the families will not be charged separately.

Did you know that the Bronze transit casket of JFK was later disposed off Delaware coast on the behest of Robert Kennedy?

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