Saturday means sauna

Photo: Jussi Hellsten / Visit Finland Finland has as many as three million saunas. On Sauna Day bathers in Helsinki and several other towns can wash away their cares in saunas that are not normally open to the public. Finns typically strip off completely when enjoying a sauna, even when bathing in larger groups.

In Finland having a sauna can be a sociable activity or a solitary pleasure. People enjoy soaking in a sauna alone, with family or friends, or with business contacts. Communal saunas provide an informal setting for neighbours to get to know each other.

Special participatory days like Restaurant Day for pop-up eateries and Cleaning Day flea markets are a uniquely Finnish innovation. Activists in Helsinki feel it’s high time to add a new Sauna Day to the calendar, and encourage everyone in the Finnish capital to get heated up.

“Lots of public events are held around Helsinki each summer, but the summer’s so short that it would be nice for people to also get together at other times of year – and of course you can enjoy a sauna in any weather,” explains Jaakko Blomberg of Yhteismaa, the organisation behind the new Sauna Day event.

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