Okay, let me get this straight…on New Year’s Day a bunch of Canadians get together and decide to jump into frigid waters just for the sake of it? And this is now a New Year’s tradition? Sure, I don’t get it. But sure…
The New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim got its start in 1920 when a man by the name of Peter Pantages organized The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club. At that time, the club was made up of 10 people. This was where the tradition of jumping into The English Bay on New Year’s Day began. Since then, this tradition has grown and now it is common to see large groups of crazy people in costumes go for a nice little jaunt in freezing cold waters to ring in the New Year. This practice is also common in The Netherlands. This practice is also crazy.
Also…Batman.