Folklore of the Finnish Sauna
Take a look around this website and you'll learn more about Finnish Saunas, why they are important to the culture, and what traditions took place.
Abstract
The Finnish sauna is a staple within the culture of Finland starting thousands of years ago. The traditional sauna differs from the modern ones of today in structure and traditions. The sauna is perceived as a place of cleansing and purity, and traditionally a place to get closer to God. Taking a sauna was a family or social event participated in regularly. As the sauna has become more popular the traditions have changed, as well as the functions of the sauna. Here we will dive into traditional saunas, their structure, function, and how they have changed over the years.
Folklore
To start off, let's talk about what folklore even is. "Folklore is informally learned and unofficial, part of everyday experience" (Sims et al., 5). This can include traditions of cultures or among groups, and how they change through time. The sauna is a traditional part of Finnish culture, meaning it is considered folklore, even as it has changed. Structurally saunas have changed slightly in modern times. The article Lore of the Finnish-American Sauna talks about traditionally in Finland they were smoke-saunas, with no chimney. The fireplace is built of field stone, which is naturally occurring, and there was only a small vent for the smoke to escape. The smoke was considered pure, cleansing, and healing. Older Finns will say this is the only type of Finnish sauna, and it can still be found in rural parts (Johnson, 34). Now saunas often have chimneys, and have many shapes, sizes, and also changing rooms which were not traditionally a part of the sauna culture.
Folklore Cont.
Sauna rituals are also part of the folklore. A ritual is simply a performance or ceremony that act out beliefs and values (Sims et al., 98). The ritual of taking a sauna in the summer took place every other night or even more, but going into winter it would happen less frequently every Saturday. Traditionally saunas are taken without clothing, and once the sauna was heated up you would stay in the dry heat between 10-25 minutes (Kaups, 15). After this time you would use the bucket and dipper to throw water onto the stones to create steam, as an essential part of the ritual for cleansing. During this time the use of bath whisks are also included, which are bundles of birch used to strike one's skin. This seeming odd is actually done to stimulate blood flow to the surface of the skin, and is also an essential part of sauna ritual (Griffey, 69). Once the whole process of being in the sauna is complete, you step outside and rinse off in cold water, or jump in the snow to complete the ritual. The whole ritual of a sauna symbolizes "life, strength, healing, and goodness, and "bring you a little nearer to God" (Johnson, 39). Saunas are a core part of Finnish culture, for its cleansing ceremonies, traditions, and even the structures in which they are built and used.
Bibliography
Johnson, Aili K. “Lore of the Finnish-American Sauna.” Midwest Folklore 1, no. 1 (1951): 33–39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4317254.
Sims, Martha, and Stephens, Martine. 2011. Living Folklore, 2nd Edition : An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Logan: Utah State University Press. Accessed February 21, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Kaups, Matti. “A Finnish Savusauna in Minnesota.” Minnesota History 45, no. 1 (1976): 11–20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20178403.
Griffey, Randall R. “Marsden Hartley’s Aryanism: Eugenics in a Finnish‐Yankee Sauna.” American Art 22, no. 2 (2008): 64–84. https://doi.org/10.1086/591170.
