Winter Swimming, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

The members of Canadian and American "polar bear clubs" go outdoor bathing or swimming in the middle of winter. In some areas it is unusual or ceremonial enough to attract press coverage. "Polar bear plunges" are conducted as fund-raisers for charity, notably the Special Olympics. Cosmo Kramer briefly joins a New York polar bears club in the sitcom Seinfeld.
The oldest ice swimming club in the United States is the Coney Island Polar Bear Club of Coney Island, New York, who hold an annual polar plunge on New Year's Day as well as regular swims every Sunday from November to April.