The Dutch love traditions. Another one can be seen, enjoyed and smirked at on the first of January. Many Dutchies like to start the new calendar wet by doing the New Year’s plunge and jump in local lakes and the North Sea.
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Photo: afritze
It might seem odd: hundreds of Dutchies gather together on the first day of the New Year. Dressed in just swimsuits, they arrive at the “crack of dawn” at ponds, lakes or at the Dutch beach. Why? To throw themselves in the almost freezing water for the annual New Year’s plunge.
There are other places in the world where a similar event exists. Holland, however, has the most plunges and the most participants. Between 7.000 and 10.000 people participate annually. Even foreigners come to The Netherlands to join the Dutch plunge.
The oldest plunge is organised in Zandvoort. Most people attend the annual plunge in the North Sea in Scheveningen, where the Dutch company Unox (famous for its soups) sponsors the event. Plungers even get an orange hat as a souvenir.