In the United States, planning a funeral involves a church, includes a eulogy, and is concluded with a grave in a funeral plot. This is not consistent with all cultures around the world, however. Funeral memorials vary widely from culture to culture. Here is a look at some traditions for planning a funeral which are very different from those most of us are accustomed to:

Bali: The Fire Burial

Antyesti is a Hindu burial ceremony practiced on the Indonesian island of Bali. Funeral planning first involves cleaning the body. Lanterns are then lit along a pathway to the resting place of the dead. The body is laid upon a table, along with food and other provisions for their journey to the afterlife.

Bodies are kept in mass graves after this ceremony until enough have accumulated for a mass cremation. At this point, the bodies are exhumed and cleaned once again. The village constructs an enormous float, decorated with flowers to carry the bodies through the village to the main square, where they will be cremated. The villagers then gather for a feast as one of their positive funeral messages for loved ones lost.

In the United States, roughly 30% of the dead are cremated.

Tibet: The Sky Burial

In Tibetan Buddhism, the body of the deceased is considered little more than an empty vessel. They believe humans to be reincarnated dozens of times or more throughout their journey in this world.

The Jhator tradition is a funeral planning practice of using the body as a gift to the wildlife. This tradition, which has not been long understood by the Chinese, was banned from the 1960s to 1980s.

A Rogyopa is a "body breaker" for the Jhator ceremony. Jhator translates to "alms for the birds." In Jhator, the Rogyopa cuts the body into pieces and leaves them on a mountaintop far away from any human-inhabited areas to be taken away by birds and other animals. While Jhator honors Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, it's speculated that this practice may have also come about due to practical reasons. Tibet's high-mountain soil is not favorable for funeral memorials involving burial, and there is little vegetation available to burn for cremation.

Jhator is a very environmentally friendly way to dispose of a body, as it simply becomes food for the wildlife. While Jhator isn't one of the funeral memorials you're likely to see in the United States, green burials are an option that more and more environmentally conscious Americans are choosing when planning a funeral. A green burial entails simply wrapping the body in biodegradable cloth and burying. This allows the body to quickly decompose and be reintegrated with the environment.

Hawaii: The Cave Burial

Hawaii, being composed of small islands, doesn't have a lot of land free for burial grounds. Native Hawaiians have gotten around this by using the many caves throughout the islands. According to William Alanson Bryson's 1915 publication, The Natural History of Hawaii, these funeral memorials would entail the bodies being tied into a fetal position and hidden in caves at night to prevent their bones from being used for arrowheads or fishing hooks.

Additional steps were taken in funeral planning for royalty. The skull, arm and leg bones were considered the most important bones of these leaders, and were wrapped in kappa - a type of cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree. This was bundled together with cord and hidden in the most remote cave possible.

Funeral planning and tradition has always been one of the most defining aspects of a culture. While these traditions for planning a funeral may vary a great deal, the one common element that ties them all together is the desire for the living to express funeral messages for loved ones to honor and remember the dead.