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POLAR BEAR PLUNGE
Using New Year's Day to engage in Polar Bear Plunge Day plays on an international tradition, where (brave?) people wade into or dive into icy waters on the first day of the year. It symbolizes starting anew, washing off the old year, and braving the new one with resilience, a physically challenging act and a communal celebration of endurance. The quirky ritual is popular worldwide. Plunging began as a joke to cure hangovers; now, the event is a significant charity fundraiser.
The first official Polar Bear Plunge began with the Coney Island Polar Bear Club in the United States. The organization was founded in 1903 by Bernarr Macfadden, a health enthusiast who believed that cold water is a tonic for one's vitality, virility, and immunity. The club started the New Year's Day swim tradition, which has continued for over a century, drawing crowds of enthusiastic participants each year.
In Scotland, the tradition is called Loony Dook; in The Netherlands, the tradition is Nieuwjaarsduik (New Year's Dive) at Scheveningen Beach in The Hague. The Dutch started this tradition in the 1960s, and in Canada, people have been plunging into the chilly waters of the River Forth on January 1 since 1986.
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