Are saunas common in Finland?
It is estimated that there are two million saunas in Finland, for a population of 5.3 million. Traditional saunas are heated by wood, burned either in a stove with a chimney, or by a stove with no chimney. The latter – a smoke-sauna – is the original sauna and believed by most Finns to be the best.
What do Finns often snack on during a sauna and why?
Sauna elf (saunatonttu). Sauna elf lives in the sauna. Finns gently beat their bodies with fresh birch twigs in the sauna to improve our circulation.
Does Finland have more saunas than cars?
There are more than three million saunas in this country of just over five million – more saunas than cars. Finns take more than 200,000 million saunas a year, on average once a week. Every Finnish embassy has a sauna.
Are there more saunas than houses in Finland?
There are more than three million saunas in this country of just over five million – more saunas than cars. Offices and factories have saunas, as do most Finnish homes and summer houses (which are all about the sauna). As they do with everything, the Finns take saunas very seriously.
How many Finnish people have saunas?
Today, Finland is a nation of 5.3 million people and 3.3 million saunas, found in homes, offices, factories, sports centres, hotels, ships and deep below the ground in mines.
Why do Finnish people love saunas?
Over the ages, the sauna has served a multitude of functions for the Finnish people. 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.”
Why do they give birth in Smoke saunas in Finland?
These warm wooden rooms could be used at lower temperatures too, and were at the heart of the major events of a Finn’s life. Women gave birth in them because the walls of traditional smoke saunas were lined with naturally bacteria-resistant soot, making them the cleanest room in the house.
Do you have to wear a swimsuit in a Finnish sauna?
This is a common question. Some Finnish saunas are mixed-sex while others are not. In the case where saunas are mixed, bathers are required to wear swimming suits or towels, so don’t worry about being naked. Single-sex saunas have segregated spaces or designated hours for women and men, and in this case, you do wear your birthday suit.
Is the sauna sacrosanct in Finland?
After all, the sauna is sacrosanct in Finland, and if you misbehave the sauna elf, or saunatonttu, will burn it down. The general rule is to conduct oneself as one would in a church; that is, be on your best behaviour.