As the cab slows to a stop, I scrape some of Jack Frost’s handiwork from the window and peer into the depths of the polar night. We’re only 15 minutes from the center of Helsinki, yet dense forest ...

Why are saunas so dear to people in Finland? Two sauna enthusiasts tell what makes their favourite sauna so special.

I’m in the eastern reaches of Finland, in the Lakeland region that includes scenic Lake Saimaa, which has 14,000 islands and more shoreline than all of France. As the sun sinks slowly into the ...

While Finland has arguably become more individualistic, sauna is an anchor to a collective subconscious that binds Finns ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Christopher and Julie Rice sat naked in the sauna, sweating in its 180-degree heat. In the crisp air outside, they then played a few hands of cribbage and noshed on pickles and ...

The Finnish tradition of a sauna followed by a plunge into icy water or a roll in the snow is spreading around the world. What does science say about the claimed health benefits? Sometimes I wonder ...

HELSINKI, Finland — When Elizabeth Rehn took over last year as Finland’s first woman defense minister, she banned conducting national security debates in the ministry’s sex-segregated sauna. “I ...