17th of May!

The 17th of May is the Norwegian Constitution Day, also refered to as National Day. It is celebrated throughout the country, and Oslo has its own grand celebration. I was thrilled to take part in the festivities! 

My day started early, before the parade along Karl Johan Gate, the main street through downtown Oslo that leads up to the royal palace. I wanted to get downtown before the masses so that I could ensure a good standing place along the parade route. The thing that struck me most while I was walking through central Oslo were the smart dressers all around me! Men and women alike were donned the traditional Norwegian outfits, called bunad. Those who were not in their traditional costume were dressed to the nines, in full suits or gorgeous dresses and heels. It was a very classy event, and I was grossly underdressed. This ain't no 4th of July...

Woman in a traditional bunad

Crown Prince Haakon and his family, May 17 (photo courtesy of nrk.no)

May 17 is also referred to as Barnas Dag, or Children's Day. It was quite clear why when the parade began. Schools from all over Oslo (103 in all!) marched down Karl Johan, many with bands or drill teams, and all with Norwegian flags and smiles.

Russ

Mayor Fabian Stang leading the parade

The weather held and a good time was had by all. Kids ate as much ice cream and polser (hot dogs) as possible, the Russ partied hard for their last time, and the royals resumed their spot to wave from the balcony of the royal palace, just like they have done for more than 100 years. I was so pleased to take part in the May 17 celebrations, especially in the capital city. 

Gratulerer med dagen!

Russ Throughout the Ages

photo courtesy of nrk.no

In my post about this year's Russ celebrations, I asked the question: Since the parents and grandparents of the current Russ also partook in the festivities when they graduated high school, is there a bit of slack for the crazy antics of the recent graduates? This got me wondering what those past generations of Russ were like.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Network (NRK) put together a picture album of Russ throughout the ages. It's interesting to see the transition of dress and cars, and while I am sure they are not all the same dares as today, it is great to see that some are, like kissing a policeman! Although this is purely speculation, I'm guessing that the dare of giving a flower to a man in a suit and telling him to relax was born in the seventies!
Check out the photos and reminisce about your graduation era, whenever that may have been...

Warning- "Russ" Abound

Spring is in full swing here in Norway. The blooming tulips on campus and the evening sun that lingers far into the night are proof, but the real test of the changing season comes in red overalls. Let's talk about the RUSS.

Russfeiring, or Russ celebration, is an annual tradition of Norwegian high school seniors right before graduation. The celebrations usually start on May 1 and end on May 17, the Norwegian Constitution Day. The weeks of celebration is a time to gather with friends for the last time before you graduate and leave for university. This is a tradition that has been observed since the 1700s when students had to travel to Denmark to attend university. Of course, the tradition looks quite different today!

OUTFIT:

Russ are easy to spot thanks to their attire. The typical russ can be seen in red or blue overalls, which are to go unwashed during the entire russfeiring.

BUSSES: To get around, russ often have a bus shared by friends. In recent years, elaborate busses, with decorated interiors, sound systems, and fancy paint jobs have become a status symbol among the russ, and the graduates may save all year long to contribute to the buss. Some even average 3-5,000 USD per member!

COMMERCIAL PRESENCE: Over the years, russ has created a huge industry that brings in millions of dollars on merchandise, clothing, and transportation. Last year, merchandise distributer Russeservice earned 43 million NOK in sales (almost 8 million US dollars), and they expect the 2011 sales to be even higher. A group of girls in Oslo have been planning their own russ celebrations "since we started in the first class of high school" and they aren't holding back at all!

TRADITIONS:

The 'russekort' is a business card of sorts. A typical russekort has a picture, name, telephone number, school, and slogan. Most russ try to put as little factual information on the card as possible. Although these cards are traded between fellow russ, the most excited to receive them are school children! They are so eager to collect them, running up to russ on the subway, on the street, in the parking lot, wherever the russ may gather. Here is one that I found on the ground near my apartment building:

 The dares are what russ are arguably best know for. Each year, a list of tasks is released. Participants are awarded knots on their caps once they complete a dare. These range from harmless pranks (eating a Big Mac in two bites, eat lunch in your underwear in a cafe) to dangerous escapades (drinking a bottle of wine in 20 minutes, having sex with 17 partners).

RITE OF PASSAGE
Social Anthropologist Allan Sande thinks that there is something deeper than a three-week teenage binge:
-Russ deals with coming to grips with taboos like sex and intoxication.
-It is a form of ritualized play, very organized and regulated.
-It signifies a "transitional period when the usual rules and restrictions that govern a teenager's life are forgotten."

SAFETY:
Most russ are old enough to legally buy booze (18 years of age in Norway) and alcohol plays a central role in the russ celebrations. Per-Ivar Iverson, Operations Leader of the Asker og Baerum Police District said "Experience shows us that russ season leads to lots of complaints and reports in to us. We don't want to be negative, though, and we want the russ to have fun." There have been many reports of sexual abuse and fights in the past years of russ, which the alcoholic portion of the festivities seem to exacerbate.

TRADITION OR TRAGEDY?
While the russ tradition is certainly engrained in Norwegian society, some claim that the celebrations are a tragedy and only hurt the youth of Norway. Is it another reason for the "Kids These Days" rant? Or, since the parents and grandparents of the current russ class also partook in the celebrations, is there a bit more slack? Should we just let 'em have their fun? "Boys will be boys?"

So on the eve of the 17th of May, the Russ are soaking in the last night of their drunken debauchery and savoring the last moments of their childhoods. Here's to hoping the hangover doesn't get in the way of tomorrow's flag waving and parades!

ADDITIONAL LINKS:
The TV show Alt for Norge did an episode that attempts to capture the wild russ experience from a unique, reality TV show perspective.

Day Trip to Lillehammer

With very little time left here in Norway, I am doing my best to cross off some of the must-visit locations in the country. On the top of my list was Lillehammer, a municipality two hours by train from Oslo with a population around 25,000. Today, Lillehammer is best known for hosting the 1994 Olympic Games. 

My first stop was Maihaugen, Lillehammer's folk museum. It is the largest  open-air museum in Norway! Maihaugen sits high enough to offer a view of Mjosa, the lake that Lillehammer sits beside.

 The next stop was the Norwegian Olympic Museum. It was stellar! The exhibit brings you through the history of the Olympic Games, from the Greek beginnings in 776 BC all the way to the Vancouver games. Various famous Norwegian athletes were highlighted along the way, including ice-skater Sonja Henie and incredible single sculler Olaf Tufte.

 The exhibits had some iconic apparel used in each Olympics, evolving through the ages. Below is the Norwegian "uniform" for the 1960's Squaw Valley games.

Who could forget the infamous curling pants of the Norwegians from the Vancouver games in 2010?

I spent the rest of the afternoon hiking up the Mesna River that flows right through town and empties into Mjosa.

Lillehammer holds many other claims to fame, including being home to Sigrid Undset, the Swix ski wax factory, the Nansen Academy, and the finish line of the Birkebeinder race, but you can't see it all in a day. More reason to return in the future!

Tomte Spring Trip

After slogging through a 13 page economics paper, I needed a break. My eyes were fried from staring at a computer screen and my skin was dying for some of those beautiful May sun beams that had been taunting me for the last week, beaconing me out of the library-induced coma. So, with a week between the essay hand-in date and my final exam, I decided to head to the woods! It was exactly the respite that I needed.  

I went to the same hut that I visited with Paul back in January. This time, I could actually seen the flora! I stayed for three nights, and the long spring days (the sun rises before 5 AM and the evening glow lasts beyond 10 PM!) allowed me plenty of time to explore, read in the sun, and decompress from school-overload.

I knew from the DNT website that I would be sharing the hut for the second night, but I didn't know what type of folks they would be. After a long hike on the second day, I arrived 'home' to some more backcountry travelers, two swiss women who had cooked an extra portion of a traditional swiss meal of Alpine Pasta (with the TASTIEST cheese I have had in a long time) in anticipation of my return. I happily gobbled up my share! Unfortunately, they were only staying for one night, but it was a pleasant surprise to share the hut with such great ladies!

The solo trip was everything I was looking for. Now, it is back to the city and back to the books for the final push.