We walk onto the beach of Egmond aan Zee with the well-dressed organizer Tom Valkering. While beachgoers take a refreshing walk, Lisan takes off her clothes. A towel and bathrobe are ready to warm up as quickly as possible after the dive.
First New Year’s dive in Canada
The New Year’s dive seems like a typical Dutch tradition, but nothing could be further from the truth. The dive was invented in Canada in 1920, the so-called Polar Bear Plunge. In the 1960s the phenomenon spread to the Netherlands.
Zandvoort had the honor of organizing the first New Year’s dive. You couldn’t call it an event yet; only thirty people dived into the water.
Increasingly popular
The New Year’s dive has now become a household name in Egmond aan Zee. Organizer Tom Valkering also notices this. “We notice that it is becoming increasingly popular, we not only have people from North Holland, half of the participants come from Germany. This week we will also publish an article in an American newspaper, we are going international.”
Watch the video about the history of the New Year’s dive below. Text continues below the video.