Sauna Culture
Although first used in Finland, cultures around the world use saunas for many (purposes|uses}, from healthful relaxation, to it’s use as one of the traditional social gathering places. In fact, the US is fairly unique by not having an established sauna; ‘tradition’.
In fact, the most commonly seen sauna in the US is at a fitness center or spa, but in Finland the use of a sauna is so common that you will find a private sauna in almost every home in the country. Many other countries consider sauna baths a rather normal and usual event, of no more importance than a long, hot bath. This is why saunas are also so abundant in many European and Asian countries.
In many areas throughout the globe, the sauna experience figures prominently into the social life of most of the inhabitants. Eastern European countries such as Estonia, Russia, and Latvia have enjoyed the benefits of saunas for many centuries. Some also have strict single-sex customs regarding the use of saunas, and one of these countries with very firm rules and traditions in this regard is Russia.
Many other countries have both single sex and mixed gneder sauna areas for patrons to enjoy. The countries of Japan and Thailand are two countries that feel a sauna is very beneficial for your health and beneficial to everyone’s health and happiness. Thailand and Japan also have saunas that are both co-ed and single sex at different times.
There are some countries, with frostier climates, like Finland where sauna-goers often take breaks from the intense heat and humidity of the sauna to go outside and either roll in the snow or take a dunk in icy lake waters. The general mood in a sauna in any of these countries can be boiserous, with loud joking and socializing by all the participants.
The countries of Germany and Austria have a different style and the people consider the sauna to be a place of peace and meditation. There is a strict social etiquette that dictates silence and mandatory nudity at all times while in the sauna. German saunas often have ‘Aufguss’ sessions in which a worker will use a large towel to help circulate hot air throughout the sauna. Visitors may not enter or leave once a session starts, because this would release some of the heat to the outside and it would be distracting. The majority of sauna-goers in these countries are grownups, although in Switzerland, one is very likely to encounter families with young kids.
All of the European sauna customs include a cooling-down time that immediately follows a soothing sauna visit. This cool down is considered healthy and can be accomplished with a dunk in a lake, a cold shower or bath, or even a quick run outside through the snow.
A Latin American version of the sauna, called a temazcal is very much loved throughout much of Central America. In these countries, individual families will own a sauna, and it is considered an individual, rather than a group, activity. Tradition dictates that a person should use the sauna only in the evening so they can enjoy the cool air at night when they leave the restriction of the sauna.
Asian cultures often have public saunas, which in many cases serve essentially as public bathhouses for the population as a whole. In Japan, sauna (sento) use has declined, as more and more people are able to buy houses with large private baths or saunas.
In the United States, one does not see any kind of strict sauna culture. Health clubs, recreational facilities, or hotels may have a sauna and this is usually limited to members of the same sex. Swimsuits are most commonly seen, but the use of the sauna in America really has no particular etiquette associated with it.