Last year, we started a CRAZY, new Christmas tradition! When I say crazy, that’s exactly what I mean. Because it’s called Ice bathing… and you have to be a little crazy to step into a hole in a frozen lake. Brrrrr!!!
It actually started as a plan to trick our Australian relatives into believing we did this every year to get them to jump in the water, and for us to stand and laugh. But after some thought, we realized that was a mean thing to do, and that it would be kind of cool for us to do it, too. And that’s how we made it into a Christmas tradition :)
Almost our whole farm family went up to the lake where we keep our portable sauna to do it. The guys cut a whole in the ice with a motor saw, and threw out a rug, so that they would have something to keep themselves from slipping on the ice.
Then, they went in the sauna to heat up before doing this perilous plunge—the water is very cold, after all, and it helps to heat up first!
People from Finland are very into ice bathing. They say it’s great for your blood circulation. I´m sure that’s true because when you are in that type of water, it feels like 100 knives in your feet because of the temperature shock. And then your blood gets pumping as you rush to get out! Hehe
I was not doing it last year because I was pregnant in the last month, and didn’t want to risk anything, but this year, I have no excuse… so should I take part in this crazy Christmas custom???
