Burials At Sea: Are They Really A Thing In Atlantic And Cape May Counties?
How many funerals have you attended in your lifetime? Really personal question, but most likely, they all played out relatively the same way.
Pardon the morbidity, but I saw an article come up on my Facebook feed, and it really got me questioning something specifically pertaining to those of us who reside in the southeastern part of Jersey.
Why don't we hear about more people wanting to be buried at sea? Most funerals are either at a funeral home or a combination of a funeral home and a preferred place of worship. It's surprising, isn't it? We live so close to some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Is it not weird that we don't hear about more celebrations of life being held on them?
That may be a weird observation, but the article I read talked about a man from India who buried his father at sea since he couldn't make it back to their home country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It sounded like a beautiful way to part from him. That got me thinking, why is it that more people within the South Jersey region choose to have that kind of ceremony when they die.
Maybe, it's because the ceremony wouldn't be able to happen until the body was cremated. It's true, the time from death to paying tribute to the life departed would be more lengthy than if one were to have a traditional funeral. Still, there's something poetically beautiful about being set free into the sea, is there not?
Just an observation. Now, here's a question for you: