What is the difference between a burial and a cremation?

The distinction between burial and cremation is primarily based on the methods used to handle the deceased's body after death. Burial involves the practice of placing the body into the ground, typically in a cemetery, where it is interred in a casket or coffin. This method respects the tradition of returning the body to the earth and often includes a grave marker to commemorate the individual.

Cremation, on the other hand, is a process that involves subjecting the body to high temperatures, effectively incinerating it and reducing it to ashes. After cremation, these ashes can be kept in an urn, buried, scattered, or placed in a columbarium. This method provides families with various options for honoring their loved ones according to their personal or cultural preferences.

The other choices suggest inaccuracies regarding these practices. For instance, saying that burial involves incineration misrepresents the nature of burial entirely, while suggesting that cremation involves interring the body in a grave incorrectly characterizes the cremation process. Furthermore, associating burial exclusively with mausoleums and cremation strictly with columbariums overlooks the broader practices available in both forms of disposition.