We will start off our December writings going to the subject of cremation.  Over the long holiday weekend we noticed a couple of articles that we found interesting.  We will bring you some information from Greece and a couple of cremation products that have their origin in Japan.

As you know, from this article that Funeral Director Daily brought you last month, the first crematoriums in Greece started operating just this year.

This article from The Greek Reporter caught our eye last week.  It pertains to the stance by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and a leaflet they issued last Wednesday.  According to the article, the Church of Greece “. . expresses its strong opposition to the practice of cremation as contrary to the Church’s principles, traditions, and customs.”

The leaflet continues that as it is the Greek state’s responsibility to pass law for its citizens, “it is the church’s responsibility to inform people about its own beliefs on the issue.”  The Church of Greece continues as it states, “those who do not want to follow the tradition of the Church have the right to opt for cremation, but they will not benefit from the Church’s funeral service.”

As we told you in the earlier Funeral Director Daily article, cremation rates in Greece going into 2019 were less than 1/2 of 1% of the population.  Until this year, those people had to go out of the country to be cremated.

Cremation Products:

• Pencil into Art — The first item that we give you today is not available yet but is in the concept stage.  It comes from Japan and is the thought process of using carbon, crushed much like the idea of making diamonds, into pencils.  Those pencils, used from the compressed ashes, can be used by artists to turn into works of art.  You can read about this idea here.

• Soul Petit Pot Popo — This is an urn made of solid brass that retails for about $110 and can be purchased online.  These small egg-shaped urns come in vibrant hues and are designed by Memorial Art Ohnoya.  The sales materials for these products says, “in many ways it’s in keeping with how Japan deals with death. . . . For many Japanese people, making a quick offering of food or incense at the start of the day, along with a short prayer, is part of their daily routine. . . why shouldn’t their resting place be as bright and cheery as we’d all like our home to be?”

You can see this product here.

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