SAUNA, les Finlandais l'aiment chaud

The Finnish sauna is the hottest place in the world where people go voluntarily. For beginners a true and original Finnish sauna may be a challenging experience. The mixture of fire, wood, aromas, the heat and nakedness may be too much for the inexperienced. That is why they have to be told the truth about the sauna, or else they might think that it is a gloomy sex-cave, or a masochistic place for self-torment. Arte, in co-operation with the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), has produced a documentary which gives any non-Finn instructions on how to manage a hot sauna in an honourable (Finnish) way. How the benches are to sit on, the stones in the stove are meant to be hot and water is to be thrown on them. And that you may get out of the sauna when you feel like doing so.Every Finn is a master of the sauna and does not accept anybody else’s advice, because Finns are born with the knowledge of how to go to the sauna. The sauna is a part of Finnish identity, something self-evident, which combines Finns all around the world. The sauna has always been of great importance in Finnish culture, both in war and peace, in politics and family. In Finland there are about 5 million inhabitants and about 3 million saunas. Every Finn could go to the sauna at the same time – and so also is done, very much, at Christmas and Midsummer. (texte officiel du distributeur)