Sauna traditions you may want to know before buying a cheap home sauna....
In Finland, the sauna is an ancient
thing. It used to be a holy place, a
place where women gave birth, and where
the bodies of the dead were washed.
There were also many beliefs and charms
that were connected to sauna. It was,
among other things, a place for
worshipping the dead – it was thought of
as such a wonderful place that even the
dead would surely like to return to it.
Curing diseases and casting love spells
could also happen in the sauna. As in
many other cultures, fire was seen as a
gift from heaven in Finland, and the
hearth and the sauna oven were its
altars.
One word in Finnish, strictly connected to sauna, is löyly. It is a bit difficult to translate, but basically it means the heat of the sauna room, especially the heat you get when you throw water on the hot stones of the sauna oven. Originally this word meant spirit or life. In many languages which are related to Finnish, there is a word corresponding to löyly. An example would be lil in Ostyak, which means soul, or leil in Estonian. All this also hints to the sauna's old, spiritual essence.
There still exists an old saying, "saunassa ollaan kuin kirkossa," – you should be in the sauna as in a church.
Saunatonttu, literally translated sauna elf, is a little gnome that was believed to live in the sauna. He was always treated with respect, otherwise he might cause much trouble for people. It was customary to warm up the sauna just for the gnome every now and then, or to leave some food outside for him. It is said that he warned the people if a fire was threatening the sauna, or punished people who behaved improperly in it – for example slept, or played games or behaved otherwise "immorally" there.
Infrared saunas are growing in popularity, using far infrared rays emitted by infrared heaters to create warmth.
The sauna can be so soothing that heat prostration or the even more serious hyperthermia (heat stroke) can result. The cool shower or plunge afterwards always results in a great increase in blood pressure, so careful moderation is advised for those with a history of stroke or hypertension (high blood pressure). In Finland, saunas are thought of as a healing refreshment. There is even a saying: "Jos ei viina, terva tai sauna auta, tauti on kuolemaksi." (If a disease can't be cured by booze, tar, or the sauna, it is for death.)
In the Finnish sauna culture, a beer afterwards is thought to be refreshing and relaxing. Pouring a few centiliters of beer into the water that is poured on the hot stones releases the odor of the grain used to brew the beer, and can bring a wonderful smell of freshly baked bread into the air. Also other scents can be used (for example tar or eucalyptus), but using any scents other than birch leaves is frowned upon by the traditionalists.
Social and mixed gender nudity with adults and children is quite common in the conventional sauna. Sometimes the sauna is considered not only a sex-free, but also almost a gender-free zone. It may also be noted that engaging in sexual activity in an environment where the temperature approaches 100 °C would be impractical at the least. In the dry sauna and on chairs one sometimes sits on a towel for hygiene and comfort; in the steam bath the towel is left outside. Some hotel sauna facilities and especially cruise ships and/or ferries have an area where refreshments (often alcoholic) are served in conjunction with the sauna/pool area; draping a towel around the waist is generally required in that part of such facilities.
