Saunas

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

I know there are many countries that claim to be the originators of the sauna. I like to think the Finnish "invented" it.

Growing up in Northern Michigan, many of our Finnish family friends had saunas either in their homes or at their camps. We even finally had one in our home. That was 25+ years ago.

I'm curious, is it still a popular thing to have in a house/camp for those who are descendants of Finnish-Americans now that another generation has come? Or, has it become a lost tradition?

Also, are saunas still popular in Finland? Do they still play a large roll in the lives of the Finns?

Just curious...

[June Pelo Senior Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close June Pelo]

Saunas

All my relatives in Finland have saunas, either in the house or in a separate building outside. It's my understanding there are saunas everywhere, including flats (apartment buildings), summer villas (we call them cottages). Taking a sauna is a way of life in Finland. Here's an article I found on the Internet - quite interesting.

June

[Sören Ahinko Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Sören Ahinko]

Saunas

The finns are really crazy about sauna. Like June wrote in every house they have a sauna. And when they are planing to build a house or cottage they first place the sauna and then they build the rest of the house.

I most tell you a little funny story.
Just now we have some people from Greece wisiting us. And the man in the family have one heard about sauna. So I try to tould him what this finnish invention is. But he didn´t get so impressed about it. After a while I draw him in to the warm and nice room.
First he said: This is not good.
After awile he said: This is Ok.
Ten minutes later he shout: THIS IS VERY GREAT.
After half an hour he went out.
The evning after he didn´t came out for over one hour and very lucky.
Now he is planning go back to Santorini in Greece and build one Sauna in his new house........


Sören in Sweden

[Sören Ahinko Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Sören Ahinko]

........forts

And last night when we went in to the sauna he want to take som finnish "makkara" with him. So we had a "barbcue".
And he also throw water on the warm stones.
Suddenly I, a finn had to go out and take a shower, and a Greek still in hot room.
- Why don´t we go out and roll in the snow? he asked me.
What should I answer to that? I have tryed many years to find some courage to do that. And now he want to do that after tree times in the sauna. Well, we went out in the cold snow and had some fun. But my Swedish neighbours looked out their windows and looked some birdhouse in their faces. Thats when I went in to the warm house again but not my friend. And he run in and out many that night.
And my neighbours is still wonder what it was in Ahinkos garden last night.
This story has a lucky end.
The Greek family went back to Greece this morning.

Sören

[Jaska Sarell Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Jaska Sarell]

Originally posted by Sören Ahinko
........
And he also throw water on the warm stones.
........

That makes me remember the only times I have visited sauna in Sweden in 70's.
We, several Finns on work trip, went to a hotel sauna in Jönköping. One time a Swede there soon took his stereos and went off after we found some means of throwing water - there weren't any bucket for the purpose. Another time time a Swedish customer stopped reading newspaper and left.
It seems like your Greek guests know more about sauna than Swedes do ;-)

Jaska

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

Sören, your story is hysterical!

When visiting Finland, I traveled on Viking Line between Helsinki and Stockholm. I learned the ship had a sauna so I headed straight there. As I entered the sauna, I saw it was rather large and somewhat crowded. I quickly searched for a seat but chose the bench at the top (5-6 rows high) rather than at the bottom. I was, after all, a Finn!

I can tell you that I didn't last that long up there. My skin practically came off! I left the sauna only to cool off and then re-entered. I had to maintain my dignity. This time I sat on the bottom and could tolerate it for quite some time.

Lesson learned: Don't try to outdo an authentic Finn!

[Cooper Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Cooper]

Saunas and the turkish baths.

Dear friends,

The invention of the suana is one of the greatest inventions of the Finns, to my mind.

Every time I come to Finland I enjoy the real finnish sauna either at my friends' or at the cottage I rent.

I believe the sauna is worldwide popular. In my opinion, nothing can compare to it. Even the turkish baths. also very popular and good for your health cannot compare to the real sauna.

Here in Russia the sauna is very popular.
I go to a very special sauna club called "The Society of Steam and Beer" for 24 (!) years already.

Of course, in our case the sauna often becomes a combination of a sauna and the Russian steam-room.

Thank you for the sauna!

[Jaska Sarell Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Jaska Sarell]

The Finnish Sauna Society

Neutral information about Finnish sauna available at:
Suomen Saunaseura - The Finnish Sauna Society
in Finnish, English, German and French.

Jaska

[Cooper Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Cooper]

Sauna.

Thanks, Jaska,

I will immediately visit this site!

Regards,

[syrene Registered Find all posts View Profile Close syrene]

sauna

Hej!
My mother, after her first sauna in Finland in 1946, claims that the reason so many Finns exhibit sisu, is that all the rest have been killed off early by the suana.
On our way to Finland via the ferry, we stayed in a nice hotel in Sundsvall in 1968, where a sauna was available. Reserved time that evening. The maid was Finnish. When we entered the sauna it was 100 degrees! She must have thought we were Finns returning home.
Syrene

[Cooper Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Cooper]

The temperature in the sauna.

Dear Syrene,

You are truly right about some people's passion for higher temperatures!
I go to a sauna for over 24 years already, once every week. The sauna we visit has a very nice steam-room and we usually keep the temperature there at about 100-110 degrees.
We are usually 7-8 men in the steamroom altogether.
Attached you will see the picture of the Russian steam-room and you will immediately understand what differs our steam-room from the sauna. It is a bunch of young birch branches we use for massageing one another in the steam room. With temperatures over 110 degrees it is too hot to use the birch (or eucaliptus, or oak, or silver birch).

The highest temperature I ever stood in the sauna was 165 (!).

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

Saunas continued

....what about saunas in the US? Are they still as popular among Finnish descendants?

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

Re: The temperature in the sauna.

Originally posted by Cooper
It is a bunch of young birch branches we use for massageing one another in the steam room.

My parents used to use cedar boughs tied together. In English they called it a switch but I forget now what the Finnish word is. Is it more common in Finland to use birch branches?

[sune Registered Find all posts View Profile Close sune]

We use only birch in Finland. And you must cut the twigs for the bastukvast (in Swedish) or vasta or vihta (in Finnish) before midsummer, because after that they loose their smothness.

My uncle John Portin, who lived in New Jersey had a sauna. When he visited us in 1972 for the first and only time since 1925, he told me that there was some difficulties to find stones hard enough for the stove. Most of the stones that could be found in river beds an such withered fastly to crumbs due to the extremes i temperature changes when you throw water at really hot stones.

Sune

[kpaavola Registered Find all posts View Profile Close kpaavola]

That's what it was, a vihta! Thanks. My parents said to "slap" yourself with the vihta as it would cause the blood to circulate better and "draw out any impurities" in your body. Don't know if it's true or not but growing up we rarely had colds and such.

We were lucky with the rocks. In one particular area near where we lived, on the shores of Lake Superior, the entire beach was covered with round, flat, baseball sized rocks that were polished smooth by the waves. They lasted for years. We also ordered some "lava" rocks but they weren't as good.

Thanks for the info.