The Christmas sauna sets the mood for the holidays—did you know the history behind this Finnish tradition?

A Finnish Christmas usually begins with a sauna whenever possible. We’ve been taking saunas for at least 2,000 years, but the sauna didn’t originate solely in Finland. Before the Common Era, it was common throughout Central and Northern Europe. Sauna culture only disappeared elsewhere in the Middle Ages, replaced by other bathing practices, remaining mainly among Finns and Russians.

Yes, the Finnish word “sauna” is recognized worldwide, showing just how integral sauna bathing has always been to our culture. For Finns, the sauna is a sacred place, where people have been born and where the deceased have been washed.

The Christmas sauna tradition is rooted in Finnish peasant culture. The gentry did not bathe at Christmas, but for ordinary rural households, the Christmas sauna was the main event in preparing for the holiday.

Beliefs and traditions endure

Heating the Christmas sauna—especially a smoke sauna—could begin the night before, or at the latest early on Christmas Eve morning. It was heated slowly and carefully so steam would last until late at night. The family didn’t need much time in the sauna—they bathed early, before dark. Evening and night were set aside for unseen visitors: the household’s departed bathers and, above all, the sauna elf.

The sauna elf, the guardian of sauna peace, is one of the most beloved figures in Finnish folklore. This small, humanlike, and friendly character often received a special Christmas Eve meal of food and drink. The last person to leave the sauna would toss a hearty ladle of water on the stones for the elf.

The Christmas sauna sets the stage for the holiday festivities

The Christmas sauna cleanses both body and mind, providing a ritual break from daily life and ushering in the festive atmosphere. Traditionally, people have bathed quietly and reverently.

For many, scrubbing the sauna thoroughly with a brush before the big day is an essential part of holiday preparations. Scents, decorations, candles, and lanterns help create a festive atmosphere. Clean linen seat covers, fresh towels, lightly scented oils, and birch whisks saved from summer are also part of the Christmas sauna experience. Some folks collect birch leaves in summer, dry them, and store them in small cloth bags. When soaked in warm water, they release that fresh summer fragrance in the sauna.

The Christmas sauna is often considered a more solemn and sacred bath than an ordinary sauna session. It’s not been customary to make a commotion, shout, or sing, nor to start festive drinking too early.

The Christmas sauna tradition has endured in cities, too

The Christmas sauna tradition didn’t disappear when people moved from the countryside to the cities. Public saunas, which in the early 1960s were heated in nearly every block, continued offering Christmas sauna sessions—following the old custom of bathing in the morning before the Declaration of Christmas Peace in Turku.

Sauna bathing remains an essential part of our Christmas tradition. In apartment buildings, communal saunas are heated on Christmas Eve; in detached and row houses, people bathe in their own saunas; and in apartments with saunas, the stove stays hot. Even if no one expects the sauna elf to slip in at night these days, you might still spot another mythical figure in the steam: a weary Santa returning from his rounds.

A new wave of the sauna boom

Now that the sauna boom is going strong again, Helsinki has gained some fantastic new bathing spots that are worth showing off to Christmas visitors. In 2013, a modern, wood-fired Kulttuurisauna was built on the waterfront in the Finnish capital’s Hakaniemi district. This public sauna is open to everyone all year.

Newer additions in Helsinki include Löyly in Hernesaari, an architectural gem where you can enjoy a sauna and relax, and Allas Pool in Katajanokka, a year-round sea spa with a heated pool that’s perfect even in the depths of winter.