Talk:Sauna

Contents

1 Sauna as English language euphemism for brothel 2 Mythical importance of Sauna for the survival of the Finns 3 Finnish sauna?! 4 Finnish dress code

Sauna as English language euphemism for brothel

"Some adult-only saunas have different rules; the term "sauna" is also used for a bath-house, sometimes with facilities like a standard sauna, but where people go to find sexual partners and have sex on the premises. Some such saunas rent small rooms for this purpose. "

Do we have any examples where this happens? I am reliably informed this does not happen in Finland and that saunas there are near-sacred and more traditional than the above implies.

--/Mat 23:17, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Sauna is a euphamism for brothel in most parts of the UK. Of course, you get suanas in gyms and leisure centres that are not, but Saunas on streets are brothels. Secretlondon 23:20, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I'd like to add that saunas in general are places for relaxing, very often in the early evenings at weekends.. and first and foremost a whole family event! No dirty business going on - No comment on couples. -Suz, a Finn

Great, I think we have the euphamistic usages cleared up. --/Mat 00:53, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I heard about "Sauna clubs" for sex before, though. There was even a court ruling in Sweden to prohibit them.

Mythical importance of Sauna for the survival of the Finns

Sauna also played a major role during the winter war against U.S.S.R in 1939. When the temperature could easily drop below -20 celsius, the sauna became very useful since it prevented effectively the spread of common diseases among the soldiers and had emotional effects. When considering reasons how Finns managed so long in front of a superior enemy, many claim that sauna, which the Russians didn't have, was the key to remain independency.
213.243.187.21 (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Special:Contributions&target=213.243.187.21)

Sauna in Finnish military installments is a interesting topic also in general. It is told that when Finnish peacekeepers arrive on their mission, they first build a sauna while living on tents, and only when finished start building barracks. Also as far as I know, there is a sauna in every military garrison in Finland. Accommodation in garrisons is usually very modest, and the existence of saunas in those places very well describes the Finnish attitude that sauna is a necessity, not a luxury. Garrison saunas are perhaps the largest saunas in regular use, sized so that it is possible for a whole company or battery of soldiers to take bath in one or two turns. Exercise areas have smaller saunas (squad or platoon size), offering a refreshing break during hard combat exercises. Soldiers taking care of saunas are often called "saunamajuri" in finnish military slang, that is "sauna major"; they are usually conscripts, but calling them "major" is a sign of just how important finns keep sauna. Whereas on civilian side it is sometimes said that there are no gender in sauna, in military it is said that there are no rank in sauna; taking off clothes, insignia of rank is also taken off. Finnish peacekeepers in Kosovo built a sauna from two local trucks (http://www.mil.fi/rauhanturvaaja/uutiset/198.dsp) /TN 18:38, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

This is right. A notion of how Finns feel the Sauna culture having contributed to our survival through history, including how Finns may regard themselves as superior to neighbouring peoples considered dirty and susceptible for parasites and diseases would however need to be worded carefully in order to reach the encyclopedical standard we strive for. /Tuomas 12:08, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Finnish sauna?!

I find it odd that there should be two seperate articles for sauna and Finnish sauna, as "sauna" is in and of itself a solely Finnish word and institution. Turkish or Roman baths are not saunas and should not get a mention so early in the article but perhaps a link at the end. "Sauna" is derived from the Finnish word "savuna" (roughly: "in a state of smoke") and the Russian and Swedish versions are imports from Finland. I think this article needs to be seriously rethought and have its center of focus changed drastically. Too much attention is paid to foreign (non-Finnish) attitudes towards sauna than the history of sauna itself. I'll be prepared to handle this huge task granted there are no objections.--[[User:HamYoyo|HamYoyo|TALK]] 20:40, Jun 29, 2004 (UTC)

No objections. Quite the contrary! Please do!/Tuomas 15:02, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC)

No objections, please go for it. How about making Finnish sauna detail the origins and history and Finn-specific parts, and sauna would be the general worldwide term with a link like see Finnish sauna for detailed history? I know the sauna originated in Finland, but I do think that the sauna article itself should exist in roughly its present form (ie worldwide applicability). Mat-C 23:06, 2 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Alright, I'll get working on Finnish sauna. I'll add a disambiguating heading of some sort to sauna when I'm done.--[[User:HamYoyo|HamYoyo|TALK]] 13:35, Jul 4, 2004 (UTC)

Damn! I should have checked this discussion page first, before I added a large section on Finnish Sauna Customs to the page. I was planning to edit the other sections and move the relevant information there. I have now left my additions there with hardly any editing on the rest of article. I have no objections if somebody wants to do some drastic editing. I will probably do something myself in a week or two if there are no objections. Perhaps Finnish sauna should only be a redirect to sauna. The idea about removing Turkish steam bath material is good. --Chino 15:33, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Finnish dress code

"In sauna it is a faux pas to wear clothing in the hot room. [...] In public saunas one also sees signs prohibiting the wear of swimming suits in the hot room."

According to some other sources on the web, nudity in the Finnish sauna is merely the norm and not a rule. Who is right? Moreover, in hotels/hostels that take many guests from abroad, I can imagine chaos ensuing between people who have different conceptions (or none at all) of sauna dress code. -- Smjg 19:08, 2 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Both. In Finland and Scandinavia, a towel (or for women, maybe two towels) is what you use to hide your nudity, if there is a need for that. I guess that hotels and hostels typically have more than one sauna, or other arrangements to avoid mixed-sex bathing, so there would be no problem, I think (being from a family that due to WWII was dispersed from Karelia I've relatives to visit in any town I could think of to go to, so I've never been a guest to a hotel in Finland). But foreign guests usually seem to follow the rule, When in Rome, do as the Romans; and Finns who receive guests from abroad to their homes know that customs connected to nudity are somewhat different on the European continent, and try not to make the guests feel uncomfortable. Sauna and chaos doesn't fit together. Chaos is to be avoided. :-) /Tuomas 23:19, 2 Feb 2005 (UTC)