Finnish view on sauna
I did read Matthew Naylor going on about sauna in the last issue of FW [21.03.08]. Fascinating to see how a Brit reacted to a very normal Finnish activity. The way I read it - the culture shock was overwhelming.
Basically sauna is designed for cleansing and relaxation. It is ofter referred to with similar reverence as church - it cleanses both the body and the soul. It is one of the corner stones of a healthy society.
Finland is not a classless society - but it thrives on equality. One place to demonstrate this is in sauna. All arrive together with nothing else but what mother nature was willing to give us. No pomp of car, suit or expensive shoes. It puts a female on equal footing with a male, the road sweeper with the boss. All that counts is wit [in Finland the ability to express yourself with the least number of words possible] and tolerance to heat on the top shelf. People learn to appreciate each other for what they are, not what they earn.
Another healthy outcome is males mixing with females in a non sexual manner while naked. The recent survey in the UK showed that majority of people think a woman showing flesh in public is responsible if she is raped. In Finland showing a bit of leg and a bit of cleavage is just party clothes - invitation to share any more than a passing look is communicated with totally different means. It also means that girls and boys know what a naked person looks like - no need for experiments behind the bike shed. In statistics terms Finland has one of the lowest rates of teenage pregnancies in the world, while the UK is the leader of the pack, in the most negative way.
Finns gladly invite all guests to join sauna. We think it is one of the best joys of life and within healthy social boundaries. However, despite some gentle teasing it is perfectly OK to chicken out. Making sauna to a weird experience with sexual undertones is very bad sport indeed and will forever taint one's credibility as a balanced person in the Finnish society.
We have one too. At the moment it is still sitting on a pallet in the workshop but it will be going one of these days [i.e. the day we can agree where to put it]. Hisself likes sauna but is not comfortable about sharing with lots of people. He says so and is excused. As my mum says "These foreign men cannot help the weird upbringing they had."
What can one then say about sauna without offence? We women tend to moan about what it does to hair, many a column has been written about the pros and cons of heat treatments. Men tend to concentrate to the technical side; is a real wood oven better than the new electric models, where to get the best stove stones and where one can gain access to an old fashioned smoke sauna.....