Editing Sauna (section)

=====Finland and Estonia=====
{{Main|Finnish sauna}}

A sauna session can be a social affair in which the participants disrobe and sit or recline in [[temperature]]s typically between {{convert|70|and|100|C}}. This induces relaxation and promotes [[sweat]]ing. People use a bundle of [[birch]] twigs with fresh leaves ([[Finnish language|Finnish]]: ''[[Bath broom|vihta]]'' or ''vasta''; [[Estonian language|Estonian]]: ''viht''), to slap the skin and create further stimulation of the pores and cells.<ref name="Maki">{{cite web |last=Maki |first=Albert |title=New Finland Sauna / New Finlandin saunat |work=New Finland District |publisher=Saskatchewan Gen Web |date=20 September 2010 |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Finnish/NewFinlandSauna.html |access-date=17 April 2014 }}</ref>

The sauna is an important part of daily life, and families bathe together in the home sauna. There are at least 2 million saunas in Finland according to official registers. The Finnish Sauna Society believes the number can be as high as 3.2 million saunas (population 5.5 million).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-05 |title=Lehdistötiedote: Suomalainen saunominen halutaan Unescon kulttuuriperinnön luetteloihin |url=https://sauna.fi/lehdistotiedote-suomalainen-saunominen-halutaan-unescon-kulttuuriperinnon-luetteloihi/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=Sauna |language=fi }}</ref> Many Finns take at least one a week, and much more when they visit their summer cottage in the countryside. Here the pattern of life tends to revolve around the sauna, and a nearby lake used for cooling off.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24328773 |title=Why Finland loves saunas |newspaper=BBC News |date=October 2013 |last1=Bosworth |first1=Mark }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="150" perrow="5">
Rajaportin sauna 2017-03-04 15.01.56.jpg|[[Rajaportin sauna]] in [[Tampere]], the oldest working public sauna in Finland
Sauna-pool.JPG|A modern sauna in Finland
Hinni talu saun.jpg|A sauna in Estonia
Sauna of Kapelo.JPG|Sauna building in Finland
Sunset sauna, Saadjärv.jpg|Estonian sauna on a lake
</gallery>

Sauna traditions in Estonia are almost identical to Finland as saunas have traditionally held a central role in the life of an individual. [[Ancient Estonia]]ns believed saunas were inhabited by spirits. In folk tradition, the sauna was not only the place where one washed but also used as the place where brides were ceremoniously washed, where women gave birth, and the place where the dying made their final bed.<ref>Ivar Paulson, ''The Old Estonian Folk Religion'', Indiana University, 1971</ref> The folk tradition related to the Estonian sauna is mostly identical to that surrounding the Finnish sauna. On New Year's Eve, a sauna would be held before midnight to cleanse the body and spirit for the upcoming year.