For many people the only true sauna is the Finnish sauna, detailed here. The word sauna is now commonly used to mean many types of sweat bathing facility, some of which predate the Finnish version. For the modern global sauna variants, see sauna.

The Finnish sauna is a substantial part of the Finnish culture. There are five million inhabitants and over two million saunas in Finland - an average of one per household. For Finnish people the sauna is a place for easing with friends and family, and a place for physical and mental relaxation. Finns think of saunas not as a luxury, but as a necessity.

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The Finnish sauna bathing process[edit]

One undresses completely, takes a shower (without soap) and enters the sauna. In the sauna the temperatures range from 80ºC to over 100ºC, but the heat can be regulated by sitting higher up on the benches, called lauteet. One sits back and lets the heat penetrate one's body and open the pores of the sweating skin.

The stones on the furnace (kiuas) in the corner are very hot and when water is thrown on them (called throwing löyly), a damp cloud of steam fills the room. The löyly makes the sauna feel more hot. One throws löyly as often or seldom as one wishes. After about 10-30 minutes, one leaves and cools down outside, by having a cold shower or alternatively by going for a swim in a lake or the sea. The process is repeated at least twice, but there is no upper limit. The whole sauna bathing process usually takes from 30 minutes to two hours. At the end a shower is taken with soap and shampoo.

At lakeside cottages, a sauna bath is not normally complete without a refreshing swim, when one leaves the sauna for a break. In the winter, sauna veterans may even cut a hole in the ice and take a bath in the icy water (typically from 1º to 4ºC) or they might roll around in the snow. They may also use a vasta or vihta, a strong wisp or bundle of birch twigs (only the Silver Birch, Betula pendula, is appropriate for this). It is immersed in warm water and then used to beat oneself (gently!). This peels the skin, cleans it, and relaxes the muscles.

Saunas in Finland[edit]

Almost every Finnish home has a sauna. There are also public saunas at such places as swimming pools, dormitories and gyms. It is not unusual for men and women to go to the sauna together, especially members of the same family and close friends. Public saunas are almost always single sex.

Many Finns have a summer cottage with a sauna at one of the tens of thousands of lakes in Finland.

Finnish sauna customs[edit]

These days, saunas are an integral part of the way of life in Finland. They are found everywhere: in private apartments, corporate headquarters and even in the Parliament. The sauna tradition is so strong that even Finns abroad enjoy a good sauna, probably the reason why the Finnish Church in Rotherhithe, London has its own sauna. Finnish soldiers on peacekeeping missions are famous for their saunas; even on the UNMEE mission in Eritrea, a sauna was one of the first buildings to be erected. (A second world war-era Finnish military field manual states that a rest of eight hours is all that is required for a battalion to build saunas, warm them and bathe in them.)

The best saunas, however, are located on the shores of Finland's 187,888 lakes. The sauna is an important part of the national identity and those who have the opportunity usually take a sauna at least once a week.

Taking a sauna begins by sitting in the hot room, typically warmed to 80-90 degrees Celsius (175-195 degrees Fahrenheit), for some time. Water is thrown on the hot stones topping the kiuas, a special stove used to warm up the sauna. This produces steam, known as löyly, which makes the sauna feel even hotter. Occasionally one uses leafy, fragrant boughs of silver birch to gently beat oneself. The boughs are called vihta or vasta. This has a relaxing effect on the muscles and also helps in calming the effects of mosquito stings. When the heat begins to feel uncomfortable it is customary to jump into a lake, sea, or a swimming pool. In the winter rolling in the snow or even swimming in a hole cut in the ice, an avanto is sometimes used as a substitute. Then one usually sits down in the dressing room or the porch of the sauna to enjoy a makkara, or Finnish sausage, along with beer or soft drinks.

After cooling one goes back to the hot room and begins the cycle again. One cycle usually has no noticeable effect. Usually one takes at least two or three cycles, lasting between one half to two hours. In Finland's numerous summer cottages taking sauna might go on well into the night if the company is good. This is especially true in the summer when there is virtually no darkness. For many Finns, the sauna is almost a sacred place. Thorough washing will end the session of sauna. Conversation should be relaxed and arguments and controversial topics should be avoided. It is also rare to use titles or other honorifics in the sauna.

Sometimes men and women go to the sauna together, sometimes not. For someone brought up in Finland, the rules are instinctive but they are difficult to put into words. Depending on the size, composition, relationships, and the age structure of the group three basic patterns can emerge: Everyone can go to sauna at the same time, men and women may take sauna separately, or each family can go to sauna separately. Mixed saunas with non-family-members are most common with young people and are quite rare with older people and on more formal occasions. It's common for teenagers to stop going to sauna with their parents at some point.

In the sauna it is a faux pas to wear clothing in the hot room, although it is acceptable to sit on a small towel or pefletti, a disposable tissue designed to endure heat and humidity (it can be mandatory in a public sauna, such as one in a swimming hall). While cooling off it is quite common to wrap a towel around your body. Though mixed saunas are quite common, the sauna, for a typical Finn, is a completely non-sexual place. In Finland "sauna" means only a sauna, not a brothel, sex club, or such. In public saunas one also sees signs prohibiting the wearing of swimming suits in the hot room. There are some hygienic reasons for this.[citation needed] Also, in some indoor swimming pools chlorine is added to the water for hygiene reasons. If swimwear used in such water is brought to the hot room, the chlorine will vaporize and cause breathing problems for people with relevant disorders (asthma, allergies).

Foreign visitors in Finland often get invited into the sauna. This may even happen after business negotiations and other such events. In these occasions it is possible to refuse, although it may not impress your Finnish hosts. Such an invitation (in a business setting) may in fact indicate that the negotiations have gone well and a joint business effort is seen probable - hence the invitation. In private homes or summer residences sauna is usually warmed to honour the guest and refusal may be more difficult. However, Finns will not typically be offended by declining a sauna bath.

The savusauna (smoke sauna) is a special type of sauna without a chimney. Wood is burned on a particularly large stove and the smoke fills the room. When the sauna is hot enough, the fire is allowed to die and the smoke is ventilated out. The residual heat of the stove is enough for the duration of the sauna. This represents the ancestral type of sauna, since chimneys are a later addition. Smoke saunas have experienced great revival in recent years since they are considered superior by the connoisseurs. They are not, however, likely to replace all or even most of the regular saunas because more skill and effort is needed for the heating process.

The sauna in Finland is such an old phenomenon that it is impossible to trace its roots. Hundreds of years ago, when bathing was something to be done only rarely or never at all, Finns were cleaning themselves in saunas at least once a week. One reason why sauna culture has always flourished and is so highly honored in Finland is the many uses of the sauna. When people were moving the first thing they did was build a sauna. You could live in it, make food in the stove, take care of your personal hygiene and most importantly, give birth in an almost sterile environment. One thing that has also affected the spreading of the sauna is the almost endless resources of wood to burn. Another reason is that in such a cold climate, the sauna allows people to feel warm at least for a short period of time. It is just as popular in the summer as in the winter, though.


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