Sauna has always been both a mundane and magical place in Finnish culture. It’s where the family got clean after a day’s work, but also where several superstitions and beliefs as well as important traditions have a place. One of these is the Christmas sauna. Just as the home is cleaned and decorated, the sauna is also made ready for the special day. For the rest of the year going to sauna might be a self-evident event, but at Christmas it becomes an almost hallowed experience that is part of the celebration just as much as any other aspect of Finnish Christmas from the declaration of Christmas Peace to food and decorations.
Christmas is a time of traditions and getting together with your loved ones, and every family has their own customs about the Christmas sauna from when they bathe to what kind of drink they might enjoy there or even if special scents are allowed to be used. A freshly washed, well-heated sauna with clean linen is the perfect way to relax at Christmas, and often cleaning the sauna and washing the benches kick off the whole celebration. Some might even use special towels and sauna bench covers or other decorations such as elves or reindeers they take out just for Christmas.
A place of rest and relaxation, going to sauna is already a calm and respectful event, but the declaration of the traditional Christmas peace at noon on Christmas Eve adds a level of calm to the Christmas sauna. Some families go to sauna before eating, eagerly anticipating the delicious meal waiting on the table. For some, the meal comes first, and the sauna is a warm, soothing finish to a day of celebration. If you have an outdoor sauna, you can decorate the path with candles, ice lanterns, or Swedish torches (jätkänkynttilä) to bring light to the darkest time of the year, and even bathing in just candlelight adds to the atmosphere and coziness. When the skies are clear, stars and Northern Lights might light your path to the Christmas sauna.
Decorations of fir tree branches bring color and a sauna whisk (vihta or vasta) tied from fresh birch branches and dried especially for this occasion spreads a delicious smell in the sauna, reminding the bather of the summer past. Soaked in warm water, the whisk becomes more flexible and is a great way to boost circulation when hit softly against your skin. Weird, but nice. Some might even emphasize the natural scents by diluting a drop of pine or tar aroma or even some beer in the water before throwing it on the heater. And in-between steams, running out of the sauna to roll around in the fresh snow before running back into the warmth is the ultimate thrill of a Finnish Christmas.
For adults, the Christmas sauna can also be a moment of deep calm, a rare pause in the holiday bustle. For children, Christmas is an especially magical time, and Christmas sauna is a big part of that. The thrill of running from the steamy warmth into the crisp winter air, perhaps a roll in the snow or a dip into a lake before rushing back inside all add to the magic of Christmas. During these outings, they might hear a faint twinkle of elves’ bell or catch a sight of Santa’s sleigh.
When you step into a Finnish Christmas sauna, you enter an ancient tradition with rituals of warmth, healing, and quiet reflection. Interestingly, some modern heaters draw inspiration from this heritage. Take Rakka, for example. Named after Lapland’s ragged, rocky boulder fields and built from those same stones, it has a direct connection to nature. The whole design nods to ancient shamanic sauna practices, blending the wilderness of the north with contemporary comfort.
No matter how traditional or modern your Christmas sauna is, it is the perfect way to celebrate the darkest time of the year. And even the most contemporary of Finns might still end their Christmas sauna by leaving the sauna elf (saunatonttu) a bowl of rice porridge as well as a sauna whisk and last steams.
Happy holidays and relaxing sauna moments!
