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.