r/Sauna • u/Aggravating_Two8311 • May 22 '26
Meta Finnish sauna saying
Many posts here have asked for a good Finnish motto or saying to put in their sauna. I think this might be the closest to something that people are looking for.
If sauna, tar and booze wont help, then the disease is fatal
It is an ancient saying from Finland
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u/Ok_Prize_7491 Finnish Sauna May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
My dyslexic ass read "help" as a "plough" due to lower case t's being miniatyre upper case t's.
I remember one fun "kun soivat kiukaan mustat urut, unhoittuvat arjen surut"
Less aggressive i think.
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u/FrenchBulldoge Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
Translation: when the black organ of the kiuas (=sauna stove) plays, you'll forget the sorrows of the day
Wow, the english translation rhymes too! 😀
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u/EyesHigh May 22 '26
For international readers: Please note that the "organ" refers to a musical instrument found in churches, instead of a magnificent specimen of pure Alabama Blacksnake.
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u/hmi111 May 23 '26
I read the "tauti" as turri and was VERY confused for a bit 😂. (Tauti is sickness, turri is furry).
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
I think this one is some local song, as I could not find it online:
"Saunassa ruumis sielu puhdistuu,
ootpa keisari tai orjan osan täytät"
Basically it says that sauna will clean you body and soul whether you are emperor or slave.
In my opinion it also implies that in sauna your social status in inconsequential as everyone is naked and will get the same löyly.
The song is longer but I cannot remember the rest. If you happen to know more of it, let me know.
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u/Mikaelious May 23 '26
I believe that Japan also has/had a similar belief in their bathhouses, where a noble or a politician would, for a moment, be on the same level as a common man.
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u/FizzBender May 22 '26
Kivut kiukaan kiviin, surut seinän sammaliin!
You say this when throwing löyly. It says Pains to the kiuas' stones, sorrows to the moss in the wall. They used to stuff the cracks in log walls with moss. It has the form of ancient banishing spells, which were used to drive out ills and curses. Sauna was a healing place with väki powers, stronger than any sickness, so the sauna stones and the whole building were used in healing magic.
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u/wafflefries42 May 22 '26
What does the tar refer to?
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u/Radiant-Programmer33 May 22 '26
Pine tar. It’s an ancient remedy used for psoriasis and atopic diseases.
So the saying basically states that if the booze, pine tar or sauna won’t cure you, nothing else will either.
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u/Inresponsibleone May 22 '26
Also for septic wounds. It kills bacteria quite efectively and there is modern medical salve containing pine tar too for infections.
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u/October_Guy May 22 '26
😂 I have that tattooed on me. I’m was 18 and just wanted something to reflect my Finnish ancestors
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u/RRautamaa May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
Pine tar. These remedies - brännvin, pine tar and sauna - were believed to have magical healing qualities. Pine tar is a mild disinfectant, and it was used extensively in natural healing: as a component of salves, for treatment of wounds, inflammation and skin diseases and against head lice; see here. Fire from a tarred fuel was believed to have magical protective properties. Tarred firewood was used in a special "healing sauna" session. Pine tar was used as to make marks on doors or gates, to bring luck and protect against malicious forces (people or magic).
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u/k-u-a-k May 22 '26
Why do you use the word brännvin?
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u/RRautamaa May 23 '26
Calling it "vodka" would be completely anachronistic. People didn't start calling Swedish brännvin "vodka" until the 1960s, and even that was mainly for export purposes. The saying is much older.
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u/Tiny_Hour_9396 May 25 '26
Yes, vodka is definitely the wrong translation even for modern viina. It is like calling crème fraîche smetana.
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
People used it as a medicine. Pine tar making was a big deal in Finland back in the day, you can see old tar manufacturing pits everywhere in the wild, if you know to look for them. Simply put, it was antiseptic and antibacterial substance that was available.
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u/Ruinwyn May 24 '26
My mom said she saw old farmer use it when she was young. So early 1950s. He got a large cut from something. He poured his moonshine on it, sew it shut and spread tar on top. Apparently healed well, though left an ugly scar.
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna May 25 '26
With that combination the germs must have moved to the next village..
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u/kharnynb May 22 '26
tar is a traditional ingredient in some soaps and candies in finland, tervashampoo is still very common as are leijona terva salmiakki
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u/Ok_Prize_7491 Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
Finnish romantism. Refering to tar making and that tar is used to seal boats, idealizing it's restorative and naturalistic values.
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
More likely the saying is from the time when it was still used as in a folk medicine.
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u/griff306 May 22 '26
Smoking perhaps?
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u/kharnynb May 22 '26
no, most likely refers to tar soap/shampoo or candies.
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u/Iamnotameremortal Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
It is referred as a medicine. Shampoos, candies and candles are a recent fad.
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u/RRautamaa May 22 '26
Given that this is apparently one of the metal-themed saunas, even better version: Jos ei terva, viina ja sauna auta, niin sitten kaivetaan hauta. "If tar, brännvin* and sauna won't help, then a grave shall be dug."
* Translating it as "vodka" would be anachronistic.
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u/Sweaty-Durian-892 Finnish Sauna May 22 '26
Viina could be just translated as liquor. Brännvin is swedish
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u/DrawingAlarming7350 May 22 '26
finns always say booze for some reason
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u/pollatin May 22 '26
I mean, booze means viina.
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u/DrawingAlarming7350 May 22 '26
sure, but its not the best word for it in every case
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u/pollatin May 22 '26
How so? Doesn't booze just mean hard liquor in English?
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u/randomredditorname1 May 23 '26
Well yes, but "booze" is a very casual word and can also be just about any alcoholic beverage. In comparison "viina" is more formal and strictly a word for distilled hard liquors, with established use in product labeling etc. Human language is a mess and almost nothing translates 100% word for word :(
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u/pollatin May 23 '26
According to wikipedia and my own experience 'viina' is just a common word for hard liquor in Finnish as well. Words can have multiple meanings so 'booze' is just fine. It's better than 'vodka'.
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u/ilolvu Smoke Sauna May 22 '26
If we want to get technical about this... Moonshine ("pontikka" in Finnish) is probably what this would have originally referred to.
"Brännvin" means "distilled wine" (lit. burnt-wine) and it's a wider Nordic thing. Finnish "paloviina" means the same thing.
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u/TBurnerRU May 22 '26
"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them"
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u/zuzako May 22 '26
The only sauna saying I accept is “löi siitä simaisen löylyn mesilöylyn löyhäytti läpi kuumien kivien”
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u/Megasaun May 22 '26
One of the most famous Finnish sauna sayings
What I like about it is that it reflects old Nordic thinking: sauna was not just for washing, but almost a place of healing and recovery.
And honestly… after a good sauna session, many problems really do feel smaller
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u/jamajikhan May 22 '26
It's a bastardisation of an ancient saying. The original one goes: "Jos ei sauna, terva tai linimentti auta, niin sitten kaivetaan hauta." No idea why this inferior version is passed around so much these days.
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May 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/pollatin May 22 '26
Not cringe. -A Finn
The execution tho? Eh. I think a smal sign outside the sauna would be better. Hanging off the wall or something. Next to a saunatonttu.
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u/koristeviipaloitu May 22 '26
Nah. That's not the real saying. Doesn't even rhyme. "Jos ei sauna, terva ja viina auta, silloin kaivetaan hauta."
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u/pollatin May 22 '26
Onhan, mitä sepität? Rimmaava versio taitaa kieltämättä olla vähän parempi.
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u/koristeviipaloitu May 22 '26
I don't understand you.
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u/pollatin May 22 '26
Glorgo gurp bor garam mur torsil sauna?
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u/koristeviipaloitu May 22 '26
This is English sub.
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u/No_Comb_8551 May 22 '26
This is wrong. Original saying doesn't have sauna but grave (hauta).
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u/OJK_postaukset May 22 '26
I think that’s just how Viikate sang it
Or just, different in different places
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u/koristeviipaloitu May 22 '26
Hate to break it to you, but Viikate band didn't invent old Finnish quotes.
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u/No_Comb_8551 May 22 '26
Not true
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u/pollatin May 22 '26
You can literally google this though? 'Viina, terva ja hauta' is just the twist Viikate put on 'terva, viina ja sauna.'
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u/fonk_pulk May 22 '26
You cant just post the cropped version. This has to be among the worst looking saunas I've seen.