Tens of thousands of swimmers, mostly dressed only in shorts and bikinis, stormed the waves at The Hague’s historic Scheveningen beach as well as in over 100 other locations around the country.
The so-called “Nieuwjaarsduik” (New Year’s Dive) started in 1960 when a few friends decided to go for a swim to herald in a fresh start to the new year.
Since then it has grown into an annual tradition, with swimmers receiving a coveted orange beanie hat and a tin of Dutch pea soup as a reward from the event’s sponsors.
The water’s temperature may have been 7 degrees Celsius only, but with the omnipresent wind on the beach that chilled things down to only around 3 degrees.
Fans of the Wim Hof method (taking ice baths) will already know the man hails from the Netherlands. Seems to be the country of people who can withstand some cold?
