German and Italian Swimmers Enjoy Cold Water With Traditional New Year’s Dips | Arirang News

In Germany and Italy, people celebrated the arrival of 2025 with unique traditions like frigid water swimming and dives.

In Berlin, brave swimmers marked the new year with their annual ice bath tradition. Members of the Berlin Seals Club swam and danced in the icy waters, where the morning water temperature was 6 degrees Celsius, and the air temperature was 4 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the Italian capital, Rome, three men dove off the 18-meter-high Cavour Bridge into the Tiber River—a tradition dating back to 1946.

The Netherlands also has a similar tradition of diving into the icy North Sea to welcome the new year. However, this year’s event was canceled due to strong winds.