Sauna history
The sauna in its different forms has been with us for over a thousand years. It has evolved from being purely for cleaning up to a relaxing week end pleasure. Even so, the modern compact sauna has its roots in history (en français, på svenska, po slovensko).
Written culture
As a central part of Finnish culture, sauna is present in much of the literature and poetry (Fin)
Finnish emigrants brought the sauna with them to the USA. Slow learners, they did not entirely learn the aspects of the local language. Mixing English words with Finnish pronounciation resulted in a saunaspeke.
Avantounti
A short swim in a lake completes the perfect sauna experience. Finland has rather cold winters and all our lakes freeze for several months. Does this stop us? Not really. Often accompanied by a sauna, swimming in a frozen lake is called avantouinti.
Culture shock
Since many Finns are passionate about the sauna, visitors to Finland can rarely avoid trying it out. The different customs related to a proper sauna can intimidate even the more experienced traveler, as described in this article about sauna by Tim Bird: Letting Off Steam.
More information
You want a second opinion? Take a look at the following and broaden your perspective.
- Books on sauna.
- Other sauna sites
- The soc.culture.nordic FAQ
- Sauna associations around he world.
To understand the sauna, you might want to get to know Finland.