Slava

The smoke sauna tradition is one of the most important parts of everyday life in Estonia. Apart from the actual bathing customs, it also includes the skills of making bath whisks, building and repairing saunas, and smoking meat in the sauna.

The smoke sauna is almost identical to the Finnish sauna tradition that saunas, traditionally play a central role in a person's life in Estonia. In the past, saunas were used not only for washing but to ceremoniously wash brides, give birth, and make the final resting place of the dying, as well.

In ancient Estonia, saunas were thought to be inhabited by spirits. On the eve of a New Year's Eve, Estonians would take a sauna before midnight to cleanse their body and spirits for the upcoming year, similar to the Finnish tradition.

The sauna is a building or room with an elevated platform for sitting or lying. The building is heated by a stove covered with stones, which produces hot steam-laden air. The smoke from the burning wood circulates the room. Visitors usually visit the sauna together and remain there until their body sweats.

A sauna session can be a social event in which people unclothe and sit or recline at a temperature between 70 and 100 °C (158 and 212 °F). The temperature induces relaxation and promotes sweating. They use a bundle of fresh leaves with birch twigs called a vihta (or vasta) to slap on the skin and stimulate pores and cells further.

People use whisks to scrub off dead skin, and they beat their bodies with the hot steam. The smoke sauna tradition is a family custom that is primarily practiced on Saturdays, but it is also practiced before major festivals or family events, whose main function is to relax the body and mind.

After sweating, whisking, and relaxing the body, people cool themselves outside and rinse their skin with water. The procedure is repeated. Saunas are usually prepared by an older family member, with the assistance of children who gradually acquire the necessary skills.

The smoke sauna is still in use in Estonia. Smoke saunas are considered to be cheap, easy to build, and durable (if precautions are taken to prevent fire when building the sauna). The durability is ensured by the disinfectant properties of smoke.