January 1st is Polar Bear Plunge or Swim Day

In Canada "Polar Bear Swims", "Plunges", or "Dips", is a New Year's Day tradition in numerous communities across the country. Vancouver, BC's annual Polar Bear Swim Club has been active since 1920 and typically has 1,000 to 2,000 registered participants, with a record 2,128 registrants plunging into English Bay in 2000. Registration is not enforced and the actual number of swimmers may be significantly higher. Estimates of the number of observers are typically up to 10,000.  Suburban White Rock, BC's was founded in 1958, and other suburbs including Port Moody and North Vancouver also hold swims

Other locations include Edmonton AB, Calgary AB, Ottawa ON, Oakville ON, Toronto ON, Clarington ON, Sarnia ON, Montreal QC, Halifax NS, Prince Edward Island, and St. John's NL. In Yellowknife NWT, the "Freezin for a Reason" plunge is held in March after the spring thaw.

Every New Year's Day around 10,000 people dive collectively into the icy cold sea water at Scheveningen, The Netherlands' main beach resort town since 1960. In 89 locations on beaches and in lakes all over the country, each year around 30,000 people participate in this "Nieuwjaarsduik" (English: New Year's dive), with a record 36,000 participants on January 1, 2012. Since 1998 Unox, a Unilever food brand often associated with winter, adopted the Nieuwjaarsduik and ever since it is tradition to wear Unox branded winter caps and gloves.

An annual "Loony Dook" takes place in South Queensferry, Scotland on New Years Day. Several thousand attend the event with over one thousand taking the plunge. Participants regularly dress up for the occasion and will usually parade through the local town acting like "loonies" proceeding the "dook". Aside from the regular enthusiasts, most are still inebriated from New Year's Eve celebrations and have more than likely lost a bet.