If you’ve never picked out an urn before, everything is new and unfamiliar. So when we show someone our Boat mini urn, for example, you often see them hesitate before they ask the question on their lips; “Will everything fit in here?” A very difficult question to ask, but also a very logical one. Because in reality, it is quite difficult to estimate how many ashes remain after someone is cremated.

“Our Boat urn holds 0.2 litres and that is too little for an adult”. As we point this out, we can already see the next question being born – again, a very logical one: “And if not everything fits in a mini urn what do we do with the rest of the ashes?”

Mini urns to share ashes with friends and loved ones

A mini urn often won’t hold all the ashes. For an adult person, you need an urn of 3 to 3.5 litres. And even this is no guarantee, because you can never be entirely sure how much will remain. All urns smaller than 3 litres are called mini urns, so the term ‘mini’ has everything to do with how much ash it can hold. A mini urn is often chosen when several people want a small amount of ashes. For example, if a father dies and several of his children want their own urn with a small amount of ashes each.

Scattering and keeping a small amount in a mini urn

It is also common for people to scatter the ashes but still keep a small amount in a mini urn. There are numerous ways to scatter ashes; at sea, on land and even in the air with a balloon or flare, for example. If all the ashes are scattered, there is no need for an urn. But sometimes people still like to keep some ashes at home, in which case a mini urn is also very suitable.

Together till the end

Recently I met a very special woman: she kept her husband’s ashes in an ash container, to one day be scattered by her children along with her own ashes. She put a small amount of ashes in a mini urn to look at daily, to talk to and to keep memories close. The rest is waiting in the ash jar in the attic until the time comes and they can be scattered together. As she herself said; “We’ll stick together till the end”.

Auteur: Desiree Vernie