I know there's a local jewish cemetery where the bodies are buried in caskets that have an opening on the bottom so the body can touch the bare earth.
And something I did not know until a friend of the family who was Jewish died. Part of the burial is the mourners all throwing some dirty on the casket in the grave. Every other funeral I'd been to, that was done by the cemetery crew after the family and mourners had left.
Either freeze me and shoot me into space or let me grow a tree. I guess I won't care at that point :-)
Both of my parents opted for direct cremation. No viewing, no casket, no embalming, no funeral home. Essentially, they collect the body, clean it, and cremate it in something barely sturdier than a cardboard box. I'm certain it cost less than $1000 for each of them.
Neither wanted a big deal funeral home ordeal with the expense and exhaustion the family endures. We had a heartfelt ceremony underneath an oak tree and buried their ashes in the family plot in a hole we dug ourselves with a posthole digger.
I've got to tell you... it's what I want when my day comes.
I've also recently read of something called "green" funerals, in which the body is wrapped in a burlap bag and buried without embalming or anything like that.
Yes, I have heard of that custom. I think it is wonderful. Seems natural and sensible.
When I lived in the M.E., I watched a Muslim funeral from afar. The body was wrapped in plain cloth, placed in a brightly decorated coffin and passed from shoulder to shoulder to the burial spot. The body was taken out of the coffin, placed in the ground and covered....coffin taken away empty.
My Turkish neighbor who spoke excellent English, later told me, b/c of the difficulty in finding wood, was the reason for the tradition in reusing the coffin.
I’ve been to Catholic burials where everyone is invited to throw some dirt on the casket. But that is not a universal tradition. I suppose a family could request it.