Winter swimming

What could cause a person to climb in icy water in the middle of winter? Consider this madness or not - your right, but who want to swim is abound in all corners of the Earth.
For example, Orthodox Christians on Epiphany bathing tradition, "Berlin seals" (Berliner Seehunde) do it for the sake of improvement, and the Dutch were just having fun ...




1. "I'm not cold!" Says Marina Hunger, one of the "Berlin seals" plunging into the icy water of Lake Orankezee in Berlin on December 25, 2010. (Sean Gallup - AFP / Getty Images)



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2. Courageous Dutch swimmers swim in the North Sea, January 1, 2011 in Scheveningen. At a New Year's swim was attended by a record number of people - more than 10000. (Jasper Juinen - AFP / Getty Images)



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3. "Berlin seals" in the icy water of Lake Oranke in Berlin on December 25, 2010. (Michael Gottschalk - AFP / Getty Images)



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4. Belarus believes bathing on Epiphany in Minsk on January 19, 2010. (Alexey Gromov - AFP / Getty Images)



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5. "Berlin seals" in the icy water of Lake Oranke in Berlin on December 25, 2010. (Michael Gottschalk - AFP / Getty Images)



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6. The "Winter swimming in Berlin" January 8, 2011 in a suit Neptune. (Sean Gallup - AFP / Getty Images)



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7. Bulgarians thrown into the icy water to be found lying in the lake cross on the day of baptism, 6 January 2011. It is believed that the first one to touch the cross, will not hurt the whole year. (Nikolay Doychinov - AFP / Getty Images)



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8. Swimming in the river Forth at South Queensferry, Scotland, January 1, 2007. (Jeff J Mitchell - AFP / Getty Images)



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9. Member "Polar Wolves" is holding a piece of ice during the Christmas swim in the lake near the town of Tseydenik, Germany, December 26, 2009. (Michael Urban - AFP / Getty Images)



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10. Member "Berlin seals" is sent to the lake Oranke December 25, 2010. (Johannes Eisele - AFP / Getty Images)



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11. A man in a Santa hat floating on the river in the city of Shenyang in Liaoning Province, Dec. 20, 2010. Winter heats are particularly popular among the elderly and pensioners. (STR - AFP / Getty Images)



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12. A man jumps into the water of Lake Shishahai, Beijing, December 27, 2004. (Cancan Chu - AFP / Getty Images)



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13. The representative of the club "Berlin seals" bathed in the lake Oranke, 25 December 2011. (DPA - AFP / Getty Images)



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14. Swimming in the river Forth at South Queensferry, Scotland, January 1, 2007. (Jeff J Mitchell - AFP / Getty Images)



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15. Swimming in the pool, carved in the ice on the river Songhua in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 11, 2006, 22, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. (Cancan Chu - AFP / Getty Images)



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Source: bigpicture.ru