Don’t be loud, discuss controversial topics, or bring anything inside to eat or drink.Īnd while in traditional sauna culture it’s important to respect that people come to saunas to relax, private saunas can be a popular spot for drinking and chatting with friends, especially on a Friday night. The general rule is to conduct oneself as one would in a church that is, be on your best behaviour. After all, the sauna is sacrosanct in Finland, and if you misbehave the sauna elf, or saunatonttu, will burn it down. Maybe that’s the secret to being the happiest people in the world!īefore entering a sauna in Finland, it’s important to know a bit about Finnish sauna rules. Today, Finns use the sauna weekly to relax and connect with family and friends. Essentially, the sauna used to be the site where Finns both started and ended their lives. In addition to women giving birth in saunas, the space was also used to prepare the dead for their final rites. Saunas were usually constructed first, which meant Finnish families lived in the room while the remainder of the house was built. For example, it was once called the “poor man’s” pharmacy, prompting the Finnish proverb “If liquor, tar, and sauna won’t help, an illness is fatal.” Over the ages, the sauna has served a multitude of functions for the Finnish people. It’s also nothing like a Japanese onsen, which involves a long soak in a natural hot spring. Where they may differ is in their etiquette, architecture, or levels of humidity or steam.Ī Finnish sauna is not like a Turkish hammam, which involves more of a bath-and-scrub-like ritual.
Given their shared history, Finnish saunas are similar to those in Estonia, Latvia, and Russia. How is a Finnish sauna different from other saunas? Finns believe that each sauna has its own löyly, and the better the steam, the better the sauna. Throwing water on the kiuaskivet increased the sauna’s humidity by creating steam or löyly. The kiuas was wood burning and used birch to heat the room for long periods of time. While saunas do exist in other cultures, Finland has put the concept on the map – and into the English language: the word sauna is old Finnish and means “earth” or “snow pit.”Ī more contemporary Finnish sauna was a wood house with a stove, called a kiuas, and a pile of stones, or kiuaskivet. The entrance was covered, trapping the warm air inside so people could bathe in winter. In its primitive form, saunas were pits dug into slopes and heated with hot rocks. Here’s everything to know about Finnish sauna culture, including the history and the best sauna’s to visit in Helsinki: History of the Finnish Sauna While saunas are popular around the world – thanks, in part, to Finnish athletes – there’s nothing quite like the original.
Saunas are so woven into the culture, that one was even erected for Finnish peacekeepers in Eritrea. They’ve been used to heal the sick, for curing meat, and even as the site for childbirth. These birch-lined steam houses have been central to the national identity for two thousand years. If you want to understand the Finns, first go to a Finnish sauna.