A DIY sauna kit

A few years ago, I received a do-it-yourself sauna kit that included a book of matches, a selection of rocks and a small bottle of water. Which are the bare essentials that make a sauna what it is — heat, rocks, steam.

It was the funniest gift — every time I’d come upon the pieces, whether in my desk drawer or on our 0-season porch, I’d grin. It was a great reminder that a sauna can be enjoyed in many places.

Recently, we traveled to North Dakota’s Badlands — with massive boulders, great vistas and unusual landforms, and even this shelter. I’d brought that kit with me, planning to add it to the pix I was taking of the scenery. But I forgot. Yes, I could photoshop the kit in, but it’d be so much funnier if it had really been in the photo instead of just in the car.

Here are two of the places we liked in the north unit of Teddy Roosevelt Park. To add the kit, you have to use your imagination. But — can you imagine taking a sauna here?  It’s still a DIY project.

       

Nikki

Celebrate Sauna Day today

My grandpa Ivar, grandma Anna Kaisa and their children are all enjoying saunas in the great beyond. And we should too.

 

Happy Sauna Day!

Still only Saturdays in 1932

On a page of the “Bigfork Times” (from about 1932 in Bigfork, Minnesota) I discovered this notice for a public sauna. When they got paid, lumberjacks would go to visit the town of Craigville.

While I had always heard that liquor and female company were in large supply in Craigville (which was NOT true in a lumber camp), this ad confirms that there was a healthy alternative. And it was probably lots less expensive.

The sauna was called a “steam bath,” possibly to appeal to a wider demographic. John Welsh does not seem like a Finnish name, but how would I know. Once-a-week Saturday saunas were when everybody else took theirs.

Nikki

coming soon-- Sauna Day

The second Saturday in June has been designated as Sauna Day. Now if only I can think of a fun way to celebrate the occasion.

Nikki

Finding life's solutions in a sauna

"Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration."
           ~ Thomas Alva Edison

I wonder if Edison meant to credit the sauna for his inventions, but it makes sense to me. I get my best answers when I'm sitting on the sauna bench. Even when I wasn't thinking hard about my problems.     

Nikki

Saint Urho's Day--tomorrow!

 

Come March 16, be prepared to celebrate Saint Urho, a mythical hero. He’s so mythical that folks from the motherland are not always familiar with this North American legend. 

But on both sides of the Canadian/U.S. border, those with Finnish heritage — and other wanna-bes — have discovered how much fun it is. 

Did you notice it’s suspiciously the day before another ethnic holiday?

 

Here’s the backstory: In a verdant grape-growing country (possibly northern Minnesota), grasshoppers suddenly abounded. This threatened the grape crops (oh, dear — no wine??). As happened to folks in the 1880s hereabouts, no one knew how to get rid of them. 

Then, along came Urho, a Finnish boy though not yet a saint, who said “Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen.” Which means “Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to hell!” or so I’ve been told.

And — can you believe it — the grasshoppers disappeared!

This year St. Urho’s Day (or Tay, for the more authentic pronunciation) is a Monday. Wear bright green for grasshoppers, and royal purple for grapes. (Helpful hint: Should you have trouble finding those colors, use items from the football season for the Vikings and Packers.) 

If you desire goofy fun, several communities know how to do that with scavenger hunts, beauty queen contests, parades and more.

Nikki

The Kalevala on the sauna

While The Kalevala’s mythical heroes enjoy their saunas, the gender roles are clear. Men are depicted bathing and talking while women attend to the tasks: cutting and making whisks, lighting a fire to heat the sauna — and making sure a fresh shirt is available.

In Rune 4:1-8, Aino prepares bundles of whisks for her family. In Rune 18, Annikki takes a secret sauna. In Rune 23, lines 351-370 tell how a young bride-to-be is taught to prepare an evening sauna for her new in-laws.

I particularly like the section of Rune 45:211-228 (Magoun translation in which Vainamoinen prepares the sauna and then cures the people of diseases that Louhi (the old witch woman from the North with teeth few and far between) has cursed them with.

Steadfast old Vainamoinen

    Produced honeyed vapor.

Through the glowing stove stones

    He speaks with these words:

“Come now, God, into the sauna.

    To the warmth, heavenly Father,

Healthfulness to bring us,

    And the peace secure to us.”

Welcome löyly, welcome warmth!

    Welcome healing power!

Löyly into the floor and ceiling,

     Löyly into the moss in walls,

Löyly to the top of the platform,

    Löyly onto the stones of the stove!

Drive the Evil far away,

    Far away from under my skin,

From the flesh made by God!

    Come now, God, into the sauna,

Healthfulness to bring to us,

    And the peace secure to us.

This just in:

The Kalevala Day is celebrated Feb. 28 in Finland, to match Elias Lönnrot’s first version of The Kalevala in 1835, and is the same day as Finnish Culture Day.

What great background for my Saturday night sauna!

Nikki

Need a personally inscribed copy of “Some Like it Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories”?

Send $20 (which includes tax and shipping costs) to:

Nikki Rajala

P.O. Box 372

Rockville, MN 56369