Last year, we had a proper winter in January. In February, there was mainly slush, which turned to rain and constant grey until the end of April. On 1st May suddenly everything changed: Temperatures jumped to 20°C to stay there for the next two months and the trees had sprouted leaves basically overnight. I was missing the spring flowers that typically prepare for warmer times: snowbells, crocus, followed by daffodils and tulips – at least central Helsinki doesn’t seem to have any of those. I think the first flowers I saw last year were bluebells some point in May. Enduring the long grey and dead period was hard, but at least the temperature seemed to slowly but steadily climb. Not so this year:

The first snow this winter came in the very beginning of November. Throughout November, there was actually quite a lot of snow, but then it got warmer again. It snowed one day and rained the next, so that neither did we have proper snow, nor safe ice and the streets were full of slush. It was miles away from the winter wonderland I had hoped for when moving here.

So after the failed winter, I at least hoped for an early spring, since it had been rather mild the entire time. I changed my window decoration to flowers and butterflies. The sports grounds that are prepared for ice skating during winter were unusable by the end of February, because it had got too warm. In late March, there were 3 days that were so warm that I ditched my woolly hat and considered changing from winter boots to regular. Our glass fronted balcony was so sunny, it was actually too hot to sit there. I planted various flower and vegetable seeds, knowing that they would be nice and warm in the sunny balcony during the day and I could take them in at night. The next day I woke up to this:

I nearly cried, but consoled myself with the thought that it wouldn’t last for long and was probably just a last little hello from winter, confident that the temperatures would continue to climb. Well, they didn’t. Throughout April, we didn’t make it much above 5°C and it was cloudy and grey the entire time, so my little seeds haven’t made it very far. Around Easter, it started to snow again. Although it didn’t stay on the ground, every second day or so there was snow coming down and sometimes we’d wake up to white streets. Yesterday, on the 29th April, it snowed again quite heavily. We had to go out, so I took some more pictures:

We have now had 6 months of snow. 6. Months. I expected this in northern Finland, but not here in the very south. This is 8 weeks before midsummer. In less than three weeks, in the very north of Finland the sun won’t set again, and still they have almost a metre of snow. Any holidays taken in Finnish workplaces from tomorrow count as summer holidays, and all that has been growing so far is the odd crocus and a few battered daffodils people had planted out in defiance. Tomorrow, everyone in Helsinki will be out in the park picnicking, because that’s what you do on the 1st May, regardless of the weather. And the forecast doesn’t show much improvement at least for the next 10 days, with a mixture of snow and rain forecast again for the 7th May. So if you have friends or family living in Finland, spare a thought for them during spring! At least for me it’s not the dark during winter that gets me (if you work a regular hours office job, you don’t get any light in Germany nor the UK either), it’s the lack of green during spring that I find hardest to endure.

In southern Germany, Seven Sleepers’ Day is believed to predict the weather for the following seven weeks, according to traditional lore. And there really is some truth in this, even if it’s not for all of the 7 weeks. But generally, the weather systems seem to stabilize over southern Germany in early July, which means that the predictions are 60-80% accurate – at least if the day would be commemorated on the actual date, 7th July. Due to the Gregorian calendar reform, the day is nowadays celebrated on the “wrong” date.

But now let’s talk about the Finnish version: This is celebrated a month later, on 27th July, and is called “Sleepy Head Day” (Unikeonpäivä). Whoever sleeps longest in the house on this day is the “sleepy head” and gets a rude awakening in the water. Whether the sleepy head comes to the water or the water to the sleepy head is a matter of choice and practicality: If a lake or the sea are nearby, they might just be thrown into there, otherwise water may just be poured over them in bed. This tradition dates from the Middle Ages, first written records can be found from the year 1652. Back then, the title of “Sleepy Head of the Day” carried further stigma: The belief was that whoever slept late on this day would be lazy and unproductive for the entire year.

In Naantali (which may sound like a Nepalese dish, but is indeed a Finnish town near Turku) large festivities for the day start at 5.30 in the morning. Music and a procession of pyjama- and dressing gown-clad people, armed with a range of noise producing instruments and kitchen utensils wake up the town from 6am onwards. Traditionally, a celebrity sleepy head is thrown into the harbour basin at 7am. The identity of the sleepy head is a big secret until the very last minute: The victim is wrapped in bedsheets and carried to the harbour on a stretcher. Only when he falls into the water, or rather, surfaces again from there, the audience can see who it is. Usually it is someone who has benefitted the town in some way, so for example every mayor of the town is thrown into the water at least once. In addition many artists, heads of business and the husband of former president Tarja Halonen have had the honour of being Naantali’s sleepy head in the past. Afterwards, there are festivities all throughout the day, so if you’re closeby it’s well worth a visit. A video of the festivities is available for example here.

Images courtesy of Naantalin Matkailu Oy, kuvaaja Esko Keski-Oja, www.naantalinmatkailu.fi

We went on a rather rainy and chilly evening, and the place was packed. We got changed in the large shipping containers that served as changing rooms and went to shower in the neighbouring shower containers. By the time we arrived the showers didn’t get warm (anymore?), so we might as well just have stayed out in the rain. We walked to the sauna over the wooden planks crossing ground that had turned into a swamp from thousands of wet feet and lots of rain. In front of the entrance, there was a huge towel rack, on which towels were already piled in multiples because it was so busy that night. Just as I put my towel there, the tent roof of the rack decided to relieve itself of a puddle of water onto my head. After the showers and walking around barefoot in the cold rain, I was pretty cold and really in need of the sauna.

We entered the huge tent that contained the sauna – although lighting, volume of the noise, and a disco ball on the ceiling made it feel more like a nightclub. Five rows of wooden benches stretched along the walls, the top 3 of them completely packed, bum on bum. In the middle of the room was a huge oven with someone throwing water on the hot stones almost continually. Still, the people around the sauna chanted “more steam, more steam, we need more steam”. The temperature difference between the bottom and top benches was very large, and only on the top benches it reached actual sauna temperature. I thought this was quite convenient, as it meant we could stay inside longer without having to cool down outside in the mud and rain, but Mr Always Right was still complaining about cold feet when we had already worked our way up to the middle bench. Not to mention that I am usually the one with cold feet while he is already wearing short sleevevs. The dress code was up to everyone individually: There was a smallish percentage of men who had come au naturel, but most of them and all of the women I could spot were wearing swimwear. Some also wore their Teekkarilakki, a kind of sailor-hat looking cap that the students get on their first Vappu at university and which is traditionally worn on Vappu (just like the similar looking Ylioppilaslakki, which all students receive when graduating from high school).

There was also a large empty space in the middle. A few people were sitting on the floor next to the oven and playing a board game (which was of course enhanced to a drinking game). On one end of the room a piano was waiting to discover new talents, but while now and again someone tried with one to three fingers to play a few notes, the general noise level meant that we were not able to hear anything. Some people were kicking a football around in the  middle. Occasionally, it was kicked into the crowd on the benches or onto the poor piano too. At the back of the tent, there seemed to be something like a stage, as the sauna also had official music programme on some days. It was a rather surreal and very entertaining mix of things to have in a sauna, and the general feeling of the visit was that of a big, happy (,boozy) party.

Image courtesy of Vapaateekkarit / Mikko Autio.

As you know, Finns are very proud of their sauna culture, and it belongs to all aspects of daily life. At houseparties, the sauna will sometimes be warmed up, and guests tend to bring towels with them just in case. Some parties just happen at the sauna – at larger saunas, which are either public or belong to a society, and can be rented specially for the party. Sauna culture also makes it into business life, and during networking events it is not unusual to go to the sauna. Finns view German sauna culture with bemusement – water can only be poured onto the stones by the bath attendent, mysterious steam wafting ceremonies? Ridiculous. British sauna culture is not considered at all, thanks to the compulsory wearing of swimwear.

But sometimes they do go over the top just a little with their love of saunas. There are sauna trailers for caravaning holidays, floating sauna rafts, saunacars,… Here’s my top 10 weirdest saunas I have heard of so far:

1.  Sauna in the stadium. Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena has VIP boxes that are equipped with saunas. That way you can sweat while watching an ice hockey match or large concert.

2. Sauna in the library. Helsinki’s new central library comes with a sauna, to promote Finnish sauna culture. I just hope the books will have to stay outside…

3. Sauna in a phonebox. It’s transparent, it’s transportable, it’s… a sauna. Because they can.

4. Fast Food Sauna. At the end of 2015, Burger King Helsinki opened the world’s first fast food sauna (although apparently there is or has been a sausage van sauna in Tampere). Perfect to sweat off all the calories you just ate.

5. Sauna gondola. If you’re bored of just having a sauna or stunning views, why not have both at the same time. You can do this in Lapland in the sauna gondola. If you want to cool down halfway through the journey it is not recommended to leave the sauna though.

6. Ice sauna. There are some ice saunas which are “cold saunas”, but also some which are regular hot saunas. Floor and walls are made of ice, but still the room is heated up to around 70°C. This must be Finland’s reply to Britain’s separate hot and cold water taps.

7. Sauna duck. If cruising around Helsinki on a giant duck isn’t cool enough yet, you’ll be relieved to know that this one also comes with a sauna.

8. Warship Sauna. Let’s stay on Helsinki’s water, as there’s another sauna worth mentioning: On board the warship Vartiovene 55 is a sauna with space for 15 people. I highly doubt it was part of the interior when the ship was still in service though. EDIT: I have now been made aware that at least some of the larger Finnish warships in service do indeed have saunas for officers and soldiers to use!

9. Combined Harvester sauna. The word “combined” gets an entirely new meaning. Although I’m pretty certain that harvesting with this thing won’t be very successful anymore. I’m not a farmer, but somehow I struggle to imagine one thinking “oh, this is a bit chilly harvesting here, I wish I had a sauna in in this thing”.

10. Portable sauna. If despite all these sauna options you’re still scared to be left out in the cold, simply invest in a portable sauna.