Reason 1: More than 2 millionAs per BBC (2013) & National Geographic (2015) there are 3.3 million saunas, but most other sources suggest over 2 million. saunas for a population of 5.5 million.
This works out to be 1 sauna per 2.75 people.
Saunas in Finland can be found in homes, offices, factories, sports centres, ships, hotels and even in mines.
There were 100 public saunas in Helsinki (capital of Finland) at one time, but the number started declining in 1950s when people began buying homes complete with private saunas; today Helsinki has only 4 public saunas.
Reason 2: 99% people in Finland take sauna at least once a week.
And a good number takes it 2-3 times a week.
Reason 3: You can still find people in Finland who were born in the sauna.
There was a time when women in Finland gave birth in saunas (not when heated) because the walls of traditional smoke saunas were believed to be lined with naturally bacteria-resistant soot (a black substance produced during combustion of wood), making them the cleanest room in the house.
Reason 4: An invitation to sauna from business contacts you have never met before is perfectly normal.
Having business meetings in saunas is nothing new and even the Finnish parliament has its own sauna chamber for MPs to debate in, and almost all Finnish diplomatic and consular missions around the world have their own sauna.
Reason 5: A sauna is considered a poor man’s pharmacy.
There is a Finnish proverb that states: “If a sick person is not cured by tar (antiseptic), spirits (alcohol) or sauna, then they will die.”
Reason 6: Sauna has its rules and not a place for fun, games and flirtation.
There was a time when children were taught to behave in a sauna as if they were in church; the rules have relaxed a bit but the place is still considered the holiest room and especially so, because it is associated with well-being.
Men and women visit the sauna separately, unless they are family (or partners); parents go with their children until the children become teenagers, when they use the sauna alone, or with friends.
Very interesting one