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Some can relate to this on New Year's Day.....Canadians and those from the Netherlands ....thousands dunk into the icy cold water....can anyone tell me why this is a customary tradition? Is it meant to be a cleansing of the body?

Here in the USA, in a small state of Maryland, the Plungapalooza raised over 2.4 million dollars for Special Olympics. There are Polar Bear Plunges held all over the nation but the one in Maryland is the largest. It is sponsored by the Maryland State Police to support the "Special Olympics which is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.7 million athletes in more than 170 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all over the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to about 50,000 events a year."

Great cause...a reason to be freezing!!!!

Special Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

between bikers, families and support groups and even those in bikinis everyone has a great day of fun and raising funds.

Water has to be a little warmer than that before I take the plunge. This is kinda more my scene!

The Special Olympics is definitely a worthy cause, LadyJ but I'm not polar bear club material! I'd be willing to tentatively dip my big toe in the icy water but that's about as far as I'd go. Makes me shiver just to think about it!