Pictures of the cold custom

Swimmers jump into frigid waters at Coney Island beach in New York on Jan. 1 2014, as they take part in the 111th Annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge.

A swimmer waves the American flag after jumping into frigid waters at Coney Island beach in New York on Jan. 1 2014, as they take part in the 111th Annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge.

Swimmers improvise a formal tea after jumping into the frigid waters at Coney Island beach in New York on Jan. 1 2014, as they take part in the 111th Annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge.

Swimmers brave the cold water for the Decatur Polar Bear Club's annual dip into the Tennessee River on Jan. 1, 2014.

People run into the water just off the Boardwalk Jan. 1, 2014 at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Hundreds of people gathered for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear swim in the ocean.

People wade in the water just off the Boardwalk Jan. 1, 2014 at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Hundreds of people gathered for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear swim in the ocean.

More than 600 swimmers brave the cold to participate in the L Street Brownies annual New Year's Day Boston Polar Plunge, begun in 1904, at the Carson Beach L Street Bathhouse at Curley Community Center, on Jan. 1, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts.

People wade in the water just off the Boardwalk Jan. 1, 2014 at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Hundreds of people gathered for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear swim in the ocean.