Is It Okay To Wear Cremation Jewellery?

Cremation jewellery is a recently popular item which gives the wearer a loving and symbolic way to memorialise their loved one. With its rise in popularity arrive many questions, such as is it actually okay to wear someone's ashes around your neck? Different answers can arise due to various religious, cultural or personal reasons. This article will examine these aspects that arise in modern day Australia and provide an answer to this question.

Differing Religious Views

As one of the world's biggest home to multicultural and diverse people, Australians come with many different cultures and religious values. The two most commonly held beliefs that make up a large majority of Australians include christianity and having no religious affiliation. Catholicism originally held the belief that the only proper form of disposal for human remains was through burial. For those that believe in the older school of thought such as Orthodox christians, then cremation and therefore cremation jewellery would not actually be appropriate. In recent times the Vatican has declared that cremation does not “prevent God from raising up the deceased body to new life”. This means that for Catholic christians, cremation along with cremation jewellery is perfectly okay. Other popular religions in Australia such as Buddhism and Hinduism hold cremation as a sacred and preferred act to venerate their deceased. Buddha himself was cremated and Hindu followers practise a right known as “antim sanskar”. Both of these religions make it okay to wear cremation jewellery but it is preferred for Hindus to scatter the ashes in the river Ganges or another sacred body of water. For people who follow the religion of Islam, cremation is not acceptable as a means of funeral rites as they must be prescribed by the divine law. This means that only burial is accepted and so cremation and cremation jewellery would not be allowed. No matter what religion you ascribe to, it is important to check with your local priest, rabbi, imam or other religious authorities to know precisely what you can and cannot do. As for the other most popular religious view, of which to say is being non religious, cremation and if it's okay to wear cremation jewellery would come down to a person's culture which will be discussed in the next paragraph.

Differing Cultural views

Australia is so culturally diverse that it would be impossible to describe every culture and how they feel about cremation and cremation jewellery. Instead, it is better to describe how to think about it so you can come to a conclusion yourself. Religion can be quite strict with what you can and can not do but culture is constantly fluid, changing and doesn't really contain strict rules. If you are not a religious person, cremation and cremation jewellery is perfectly fine for you. But think about your own cultural values, what does your family think? Is your family religious? Do they have any strong feelings towards cremation, or cremation jewellery for that matter? These are just some of the questions you might want to ask yourself to see if cremation and cremation jewellery is right for you. In most cases, if your loved one has already been cremated then cremation jewellery should be fine to wear. Ultimately the decision is yours. You are the person wearing the cremation jewellery so only you can decide if you're comfortable wearing it or not. Religious or cultural values aside, if you really want to keep your loved one with you a while longer then that's just what you should do.

Knowing what can affect your wearing of cremation jewellery helps you understand how you should proceed in this difficult time. Regardless of religion or cultural values, it is up to you to decide whether you want to wear it or not. Eternal Jewellery provides Australians tangible and meaningful ways to help grieve their loved ones. If you are in need of a quality made piece of cremation jewellery, then shop our wide range of jewellery today and find your perfect piece.