We really never understand it when someone says that Finland can be biting cold until it’s our turn to actually experience it. In Finland, temperatures during winter plummets to negatives and life literally becomes a strain for expats coming from tropical countries. In fact, during such dark and extremely chilly winters, cases of depression and winter stress lead to deaths. As a new arrival in Finland experiencing the winter first hand can take a really toll on you. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you keep the house heating on to keep indoor temperatures optimal for living. But over and above the house heating systems in Finland, the Finnish have over the years embraced the sauna culture which is not only therapeutic but also compensates for the winter cold.
You will always need some heat in Finland
So many houses and even cottages in Finland have saunas inside. The sauna inside your house makes it easier and convenient to warm and enjoy the steam. Inhaling the steam really brings out the greatest feeling. At least at once you feel like over the equator enjoying the warm tropical heat.
If there is something like a great tip when selecting a house in Finland then it should be one that has a sauna so that once in a whole, you can just heat the damn sauna rocks/stones up, strip naked, pour out water onto the hot sauna rocks and just let the steam do its work. By the time you open the door, you’ll be sweating and that is what should happen. It is a good treatment for the skin and body during the winter or anytime temperatures go way too low.
Getting first foot forward in Finland as a newcomer
Finland is everybody’s dream come true. The happiest country in the world is attributed to its value of justice, peace, equality, environmental safety, and among others the humanitarian values. When it comes to human wellness and social justice, Finland is among the best after Norway and Sweden. It’s amazing how it is the third most socially just country in the world and exhibits a strong cultural heritage that attracts the rest of the world.
When coming to Finland, a good life is all that everybody anticipates and one of these good things standing is the sauna culture in Finland. I mean with the best combo of electricity and heating in Finland nothing would come out less as expected. I hope you have heard about the Finnish sauna culture for it is one of the best for a life experience. Sauna forms a very strong component of the Finnish culture.
Claims go that more than 2 million saunas are in Finland for a total population is only 5.5 million people, This is quite telling and really situates the saunas deeply inside the Finnish culture. Sauna is the number one steam bath in Finland with which steam is provided by water on to the hot stones. A bathroom or a room can be used to deliver a dry heat bath or even a room or a cabin is used for such a bath. It is not like sauna does not exist in other cultures, but for Finland, sauna has been intertwined in the Finnish national culture.
A Brief History of the Finnish Sauna
In the past, the Finnish saunas were of pits in the ground. But no trace of proper written history of how it came to be so dear to them can be found. Only remnants of saunas that were called “ground pit saunas” exist today . These types of saunas recast memories back to the stone age period. But later, saunas were built above the ground level. The first house in a building is often a sauna. Since then, saunas have evolved to become what is present in Finland today.
Slowly, the sauna formed a critical part of life for the Finns. It has become a place of birth, of taking care of the sick, and even a place of death. For sure this is how the sauna started working its ways into the traditions and stories of Finland. Revolution led to the invention of electric saunas and now it is possible to enjoy your sauna in Finland without burning wood. The major common types of saunas in Finland are that of wood with smoke and electric saunas.
What Makes the Finnish Sauna So Special
Come rain or sunshine, the Finns have the most perfect ways to relax and have a good time whenever it is appropriate. All that is done for a sauna is to strip down and sweat it all out in a cabin, room, or even a bathroom heated to 80oC. Finland invented the sauna; I mean it’s their thing and no one does it better than them.
The fact that the sauna in Finland forms a very critical component of the Finnish culture makes it very special. In fact, you cannot mention anything about the Finnish culture and fail to talk about sauna in Finland. It’s actually amazing that there is no right or wrong time of the year to have your kit off and hit the sauna for the Finns. Even in the deepest of a winter season you will find most Finns roasting in communal silence in a hot sauna.
Even when on vacation, Finnish people still seek out a sauna
It gets crazier during summer as they will be embracing the long days by heading for their holidays. They love the wood-built retreats with nothing particular but a wide-open air space in the forest. There could be mosquitos but who cares, it’s time to have your sauna, a ritual of sweating with family and friends which is all that matters. With saunas, the Finns also get to have a perfect time with family and friends which also makes it very special.
While other people may be thinking that having a sauna is a luxury, the Finns know that it is their everyday necessity. It is just astonishing the number of saunas that exist in Finland against the sparsely populated population. In fact, in Finland, the saunas comes across as the poor man’s pharmacy. This description for saunas has everything to do with the degree of health benefits that comes with it. It encourages weight loss and reduces stress thus improving circulation and strengthening the immune system.
The Finnish Sauna Etiquette
If you have any plans of sneaking into a sauna bath, there are some procedures which naturally come with it in Finland. The traditional Finnish sauna is treated with a lot of reverence and improper behaviour is not condoned. You are coming into a Finnish sauna with great plans to have a fun chat time with your mates or family while in there? You should probably think again.
Here are some golden rules of a Finnish Sauna Etiquette
- Men and women visit the sauna separately unless they are coming from the same family
- You have to shower first before entering a sauna
- Observe silence, saunas are not a place for some chitchats
- The Finns don’t mind you covering up but, in the sauna, it is nude or nothing. Master the art of the cunningly placed towel as you leave modesty for another place
- Sit on your towel as you drip so as not to soak the wooden benches
- 15 minutes should just be enough
- Take breaks and drink water for its not a competition