The history and tradition of Sauna

Sauna is, and has always been, a significant part of the everyday life in Finland.
It is a warm and sterile place where you could wash off the dirt from a days work, get ready for special occasions. It was a space to wash laundry, smoke and dry meat or treat the sick people, give birth and wash the dead ones. Therefore Sauna is present in every step of the Finnish people’s circle of life.

While Sauna had such an important role in the physical life in Finland, it also has a strong spiritual side. There are hundreds of tales about the sauna spirits, the elves and gnomes that live in Sauna and the ways people had to keep them happy, so they don’t harm the Sauna or the people using it.

The fact that Finland has about 3 million saunas and 5,5 million people, means that almost every family in Finland has their own sauna. In the cities, where there were no private saunas, people used to go to public saunas. A very strong culture developed around these public saunas, as there was very little other places to get clean. Finnish people get used to sauna as little babies and are, so to speak, born into the culture.

In the 50’s the bathrooms in apartments became more common and the public sauna culture started to fade. Since beginning of 2010 the public sauna culture has gone through a facelift and has again become a more and more wanted thing. People are now seeking for places to gather, relax and enjoy the beautiful, unique and sacred atmosphere Sauna can offer.

Nowadays saunas are not anymore used for giving birth or treat sick people, but the mental healing, relaxing, discussing difficult and important things in life, has not changed. Public saunas have always been places to meet people, a place where your status has no meaning and everyone is welcome.

While the everyday life around us gets busier, the importance of having a real break every now and then has become significant. When you are in the sauna, you are far away from the hectic social media, stress and the everyday life.

When Saara started her sauna business she made all the linen towels and seat covers herself. Because the Sauna does not have any electric lights she also produced the lace candles. 

Nowadays the wide range of different products such as vegan deocreams, saltsoap, shampoos and footbath tablets, are sold all over Finland and Europe. All these products are handmade in Helsinki.