russefeiring

The tradition & historical record

The russefeiring (English: 'russ celebration') is a traditional celebration for Norwegian high school students in their final spring semester. Students that take part in the celebrations are known as russ. Students in high school normally prepare for this celebration from the start of the year. Russ celebrations normally happen before the final term exam for the high school students before they are off to university or college. Russ celebrate all over Norway, but the traditions differ between regions and counties. Some purchase large buses to drive to events and to party in, while others may simply buy a van or a car. Not all russ, particularly in the big cities, have buses at all. The russefeiring traditionally starts around 20 April (with some starting earlier or later depending on the county) and ends on 17 May, the Norwegian Constitution day. Participants wear coloured overalls (usually red, blue, green, white, or black). Some form groups that name a bus, car or van (often making a name or logo). Some celebrate almost continually during this period, and drunkenness and public disturbances are regularly linked to the celebration, creating yearly public debates on how to prevent the most negative outcomes of the russ tradition. The word russ stems from the Latin word dēpositūrus ['which shall lay off'] ('som skal legge av'). ¹

The modern Norwegian russefeiring has roots to the mid-1800s. In 1905, the red russ caps (russelue) were introduced to graduation celebrations as a sign of the imminent acceptance into the system of higher education. The caps were initially only used by boys, and were inspired by German students, who in 1904 wore red caps when they visited Norway. In 1916, blue caps were introduced at the Oslo Commerce School, a prestigious high school specializing in economics, in order to separate them from the common graduates. Later, celebrations were gradually extended, similarly coloured overalls (russedress) were added, and the caps were saved for the final day of celebrations. As time passed, students graduating from vocational courses were allowed to participate in the celebrations, and additional overall and cap colours were gradually introduced by some of the vocational graduates. The celebrations then became a general celebration of the end of upper secondary school (videregående skole). In Norway, most are 18 or 19 by the time of the russefeiring. The age of 18 is both the age limit for buying alcohol and acquiring a driver's license. Therefore, the growing festivities also led to increased alcohol consumption, and in the 1970s the tradition of buying old cars, vans, buses, and even lorries and painting them in the same colours as the overalls became common. These cars would be extensively decorated, and serve as mobile homes and party venues for the russ during the russefeiring. They would be outfitted with tables, chairs, bunk beds, sound and lighting systems, and melodic horns. These vehicles were named russebiler (russ cars). Over the 1980s it became fairly common to rip the cargo beds off lorries and build log cabins on the frames instead. ¹

The festivities start anytime between 11 April and 1 May (different dates for each city). On this date, russ are allowed to put on their overalls, board their vehicles, and officially become russ. From then on celebrations continue almost non-stop until 17 May (the national day). On this day the russ are awarded their caps, and participate in the traditional 17 May parades. In the meantime, there are a number of smaller and bigger events for russ to participate in. The dates of the biggest parties are usually the 1st where the students are 'christened' with personalized russ names which are written on their caps, and 16 May, which is the second biggest party night, as these two dates are followed by national holidays (May Day and Norwegian Constitution Day). ¹

Russefeiring is a longstanding tradition and a major cultural phenomenon in Norway. Apart from being a celebration of the imminent end of 12 or 13 years of schooling, it has also become a rite of passage into adulthood, and a farewell to classmates from the videregående skole (upper secondary school) who will now go their separate ways in search for jobs or higher education. It is therefore an important period in the lives of most Norwegian adolescents. In the period, there are several russetreff 'russ meetings'. At these events, tens of thousands of russ meet in an allocated area for one or more days. There are concerts, bus competitions in several circles (bus with the best sound systems, best lighting systems, best design, bus of the year and "Lord of the Rings"), and the sale of beer and food. While russefeiring is optional, there are few pupils who do not participate in any way, although the extent of involvement varies individually. However, there are pupils who, due to personal or religious reasons, do not consume alcohol, and therefore object to the nature of many of the celebrations, which contribute to its image as the treukersfylla 'the three-week binge'. These pupils do not partake in common festivities to the same degree that other russ do and sometimes create their own events such as kristenruss 'Christian russ', often shortened to kruss. ¹

There are several different types of russ, differing in the colour of the caps and traditional uniforms most students wear during the entire russ period. The uniform's colour usually reflects the student's course of study (see below). However, in some regions such as Stavanger, the colour is determined by the school. Typically in these areas, if the headmaster of the school was a blue russ, the students will also be blue regardless of what they are studying (vocational students will still usually be black russ). ¹

Red (rødruss) Allmennfag (general studies) (mathematics, physics, biology, history, literature, English, etc); media and communication, art, music, dance and drama; and athletics. This is the most common colour. Blue (blåruss) Business administration (økonomi & administrasjon) Black (svartruss) Vocational courses, like electronics, carpentry or culinary programs. As Norwegian vocational studies consist of two years of schooling and one or two years of apprenticeship, black russ can choose to celebrate at the end of school, at the end of the apprenticeship, or both. Some red russ choose black in order to stand out, although most red and blue russ do not acknowledge them as real russ. In fact, since most black russ are under 18 years old, they chose to order the red overalls in order to enter party sites where only those 18 or over are allowed. Green (grønnruss) Agricultural courses, also used by some as an alternative to orange russ. White (hvitruss) In some regions, athletics students or healthcare students use white uniforms. Christian russ choosing to celebrate without alcohol sometimes use this colour, but most often wear the same colours as their classmates. ¹

It is common to appoint a russ president,… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Russefeiring”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

russefeiring is traditional celebration for Norwegian high school students, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 5 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²