The Finnish Sauna Society, which maintains six saunas, allows the use of
sauna whisk-ers in three of them. They ask sauna-goers to collect any leaves that have fallen
from the whisk and put them in the waste bin, not to leave the
used whisk in the pail on the sauna bench when they have finished
bathing and to replace the pail in its right place and take the whisk to
the hatch in the washroom reserved for this purpose (the whisker can be used
later as tinder for lighting the sauna stove the next time).
Many years ago, the
owners of the Kangas Sauna, a lovely public sauna in Thunder Bay,
Ontario, Canada, provided leafy whisks for their
guests, but picking up afterwards became a chore. At that time, their cleaners needed
too much time to sweep away the broken-off leaf bits, so the service
was discontinued.
A
vihta/vasta made of plant materials should be taken out of the sauna when
people go out for their cooling dip.
To
save vihtas
or vastas
for other seasons, they can be frozen or dried (!?). If frozen or dried,
they should either be thawed or or softened in warm water beforehand. Or it can be placed on
hot stones for a moment so the leafy smell permeates the sauna.
Pretty soon I’ll get my nerve
up.
Nikki
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