Ask a Finn!

[DVN]

Is it true that you hit eachother with sticks while drinking beer in a sauna?

Yes, let me explain a bit. We take down some fairly young birch branches with leaves and tie them together as "Vihta" or "vasta" depends which part of Finland your from. But anyway it's a old tradition and it was used to produce more sweat.

By any chance, do you jump into a cold pool afterwards?

I seen it while watching a video about gay people living in hostile cities, and it was in Russia if I am correct. He started to hit him all over his body with these leave/stick like branch things and turned up the heat inside the sauna, afterwards they jumped into a cold pool.