Filipinos Braved Cold for Holland’s New Year’s Thrill
A dive into the freezing waters of the North Sea is Holland’s warm welcome to the New Year.
At exactly twelve noon last January 1, people stripped to their bikinis or swimming trunks in order to swim in the icy seas in the country.
A tradition started by a small group of youth in 1965, the New Year’s dive has become a ritual held in the whole of The Netherlands and the biggest and most popular is in the seaside town of Scheveningen.
This year, only 6,500 braved the harsh winter conditions compared to 10,000 last year, because of ice and the biting temperature that day.
But many still joined in order to experience this thrilling event, including Pinoys.
“It’s really cold but it’s really cool to do it. I don’t know. It’s just the adrenaline,” Joshua Gonzales said.
It was Gonzales’s fifth time at the feat.
“The first time was in 2001 and it’s my fifth time to do it,” Gonzales said.
At the beach, the thick-skinned and gutsy raced to swim, dive or dip in the water.
The technique is to run as fast as you can and immerse your whole body in the freezing salty water immediately.
Those who were brave enough swam for a few minutes but the neophytes just dived in for a few seconds.
A young Dutch lad’s first time to the dive became an unforgettable experience he will forever cherish.
Although his whole body had goose bumps from the cold and his lips turned blue as he was interviewed by Balitang Europe after his dip, he was so happy to have done it.
“I wanted to do it one time in my life,” Bas, who didn’t give his surname, said.
The Dutch said that the dip in the frozen water is also a sure cure for the hangover from the New Year’s eve celebrations.
It’s because night before, almost everybody in The Netherlands were on the streets exploding firecrackers and fireworks and most are drinking alcohol until the wee hours of the morning.
Upon dressing up, the participants can warm themselves to the very popular Dutch soup called “erweten” soup or pea soup, which looks and tastes like the Western version of the Pinoy’s “ginisang munggo.”
After the colorful and explosive New Year’s eve, all the seaside towns of Holland were colored orange on New Year’s day as participants wear the traditional orange bonnet and gloves provided by a Dutch company sponsoring the event.
If the Dutch spend money on firecrackers and fireworks in the belief that they will drive away the bad spirit of the old year, the New Year’s dive is believed to give a fresh start to the new year.
“It’s really freezing. It’s really hard on your feet because your feet get really cold. Why are you doing it? Just because it’s possible and it’s a good start to the new year. Start the year fresh and start anew,” Paolo Tomas said.
With reports from ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau as of 01/07/2009 10:50 PM
A native of Cavinti, Lucila C. Oblena spent all her working years as an educator, beginning as a classroom teacher in 1944, then a Guidance Counselor and retired as a school Principal. She is also the founder of CLOTA (Cavinti Laguna Overseas Teachers Association). She is the Editor of Tipakan.com (Cavinti Diaspora).
