Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Traditionally, saunas were used as a family bathhouse as well as a place to smoke meat
and even give birth. The earliest references to the Finnish sauna date from chronicles of
1113 and there are numerous mentions of their use in the
Kalevala
.
Most saunas are private, in Finnish homes, but public saunas are common and most ho-
tels have one. An invitation to a family's sauna is an honour, as it is to be invited to a per-
son's home for a meal. The sauna is taken naked. While a Finnish family will often take
the sauna together, in mixed gatherings it is usual for the men and women to go separately.
Public saunas are usually separated by gender and if there is just one sauna, the hours
are different for men and women. In unisex saunas you will be given some sort of wrap or
covering to wear. Finns strictly observe the nonsexual character of the sauna and this point
should be respected. The sauna was originally a place to bathe and meditate.
The most common sauna is the electric sauna stove, which produces a fairly dry, harsh
heat compared with the much-loved chimney sauna, driven by a log fire and the staple of
life at summer cottages. Even rarer is the true
savusauna
(smoke sauna), without a chim-
ney. The smoke is let out just before entry and the soot-blackened walls are part of the ex-
perience. Although the top of a sauna can reach over 120°C, many Finns consider the most
satisfying temperature for a sauna to be around 80°C. At this temperature you'll sweat and,
some Finns claim, feel the wood smoke in your lungs.
Proper sauna etiquette dictates that you use a
kauha
(ladle) to throw water on the
kiuas
(sauna stove), which then gives off the
löyly
(sauna steam). At this point, at least in sum-
mer in the countryside, you might take the
vihta
or
vasta
(a bunch of fresh, leafy birch
twigs) and lightly strike yourself. This improves circulation, has cleansing properties and
gives your skin a pleasant smell. When you are sufficiently warmed, you'll jump in the
sea, a lake, river or pool, then return to the sauna to warm up and repeat the cycle several
times. If you're indoors, a cold shower will do. The swim and hot-cold aspect is such an
integral part of the sauna experience that in the dead of winter Finns cut a hole in the ice
and jump right in.
Finns love the weekend, when they head to the summer cottage, play sport or party in the
evening. But the working week also has a high point. On Wednesday nights restaurants
are busy, music is playing at all the nightspots, bars are full - Finns are celebrating
pikku
lauantai:
'little Saturday'.
