We recently added a sauna at Texas Healing Arts and I am exited to incorporate it into my hydrotherapy class. I found this interesting tidbit while doing research…

The Christmas sauna

The sauna has a special place in the Christmas traditions of many Finnish families. In past times, peasant families started heating their saunas two days before Christmas so that everybody could bathe before the sun set on Christmas eve. It was believed that once the darkness set in, the sauna would be used by the invisible folk, the previous inhabitants of the house. In lighter versions of the tale, the visitors would be sauna elves, who also brought good fortune to the house.

Even in modern times, many families go to the sauna as part of the Christmas eve preparations. After the sauna, they visit the graves of their families and friends before settling down for the festive dinner.