Soon Stavanger will be infested by a swarm of teenagers in blue and red overalls, engaging in strange acts and making a ruckus. What in the world are they doing???!!

RUSS are what we call those dressed in the overalls. They are in their final year of videregående skole (equivalent to high school) and are going through a rite known as russefeiring (russ celebration). The Russ festivities take place this year from the 23rd of April and climax on the 17th of May, Norway’s National Day. There are approximately 1200 Russ in Stavanger and another 1000 in Sandnes. You can easily recognise Russ by their overalls. Apparently, it is tradition for them to wear the overalls during this 3-week period without interruption (except when sleeping) and without washing them. If one is caught washing their overalls, they have to cut off a trouser leg.

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Etymology (from Wikipedia)

The word russ is inherited from the Danish word rus, which as an abbreviation of Latin rusticus (“rural”), in former times used to ridicule new students at a university. A more elaborate explanation claims the word comes from the Latin phrase cornua depositurus, which means “bound to put aside one’s horns”. This phrase is the name of an old, Danish university acceptance ceremony, the name of which was eventually simplified to just the last syllable.

In Norway, an extra s has been added in order to make the word compliant with modern Norwegian spelling rules, which dictate that a short vowel should be indicated by a following double consonant. It is also to conveniently separate it from “rus”, which in both Norwegian and Danish also means “intoxication”.

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History (from Wikipedia)

The tradition goes back to the 1700s, at a time when no universities existed in Norway, and Norwegians would attend the University of Copenhagen to study alongside Danish students. Arriving at the university, students had to pass the Examen Artium in order to be enrolled. After completing their examinations, horns were placed on their foreheads and they were ridiculed by older students. When the results from the exams were ready, the students would participate in a ceremony called Examen Depositiones, in which they were called up to the examinator; if they had passed the test, their horns would be removed, as a sign of wisdom and subjugation of the wild animal within. From that point, the young persons had the right to call themselves students.

Russ Vehicles

Russ commonly pool together to buy cars, vans or buses and paint the vehicles themselves. These vehicles often sport large sound systems and/or lighting rigs. As I am writing this article, there are Russ looking to buy old vans and buses online. Russ vehicles are sometimes offered free checks to ensure that they are up-to-standard.

There are ‘best vehicles’ competitions in some towns and there have been a couple of occasions where the Russ have resorted to crazy (and exposing) antics to tip the competition in their favour.

Russ Attire (From Wikipedia)

Each Russ wears an overall during the entire russefeiring. The colour of the overall should match the graduate’s line of study: Red for courses that are geared towards higher education (this is the most common colour), blue for courses in Business, white for Medical and social studies , black for Engineering (such as mechanics or electrics), and green for agricultural fields. The two latter colors are rarely seen due to the lower student numbers in such courses.

Overalls are unisex, and usually available in two versions, one full overall (with arms), and one resembling dungarees.
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On the morning of the national day the attire is completed by the ceremonial addition of the russelue (russ cap), which evolved from the traditional student cap used for university acceptance and graduation ceremonies. The ceremony involves the christening of the graduate, in which the graduate is awarded a name by his or her fellow graduates which, in their opinion, either characterizes an aspect of the graduate’s normal behaviour, or the one exhibited during the russefeiring. This name is written on the brim before the cap is handed over. The cap should match the overall in colour, and should be worn for the entire national day, which completes the russefeiring. This way, the russ’ attire is complete before they join the local national day parade, which is the culmination of the russefeiring.

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Other common russ paraphernalia is the whip and the whistle. The whip was originally a birch twig, but is now often purchased and made from bamboo or plastic. It is used for banging things (such as the russ’ car) rhytmically while chanting slogans in the 17th of May parade. The whistle resembles a common sports whistle, and is also used to make noise in the parade.

Over the years the russefeiring has become big business, and therefore there are a number of companies providing a plethora of optional paraphernalia for russ to purchase, such as t-shirts, sweaters, baseball caps, and so on.

Russ Dares/Challenges

During russefeiring/russetid, the Russ collect ‘knots’ after completing different challenges. They get to attach these knots to their russlue and the more knots they get, the better. The dares/challenges started off innocently enough :

Staying up an entire night
Walking with pieces of bread as shoes for an entire school day
Getting a reprimand from a police officer
Eating a Big Mac in 2 bites
To not be absent from school during the entire Russefeiring period

To those that are going on today (do not read on if you are easily offended):

Running naked across the bridge
Drinking an expired carton of milk
Watching a porn movie at full volume in school til a teacher comes into the room
Spending the night in a tree
Doing somersaults in public
Kissing a police officer
Drinking 24 cans of beer in 1 hour
Getting teachers to autograph their underwear
Making out with a fellow Russ or with several people in one night
Behaving like a dog and barking in downtown Stavanger
Crawling through a store
Tying a teacher to a flag pole
Flashing private parts
Making a sex video
And even more.. the possibilities are limited only to the Russ’ imagination.

This year, the Russ in Stavanger have yet another dare added to their list which I thought was pretty funny: To hang pacifiers on each of the trees on the property of the lady who removed all the pacifiers from the tree by Mosvatnet. And if she’s home, to lecture her on how trees get their oxygen.

In addition, the Russ committee have decided to include goodwill acts in their list: teaching a young kid that smoking is bad, planting 10 trees, collecting/donating 2010 NOK for the Cancer Foundation
The dares have to be witnessed by at least 2 people (some specific ones have to be witnessed by students on the Russ board) or video evidence needs to be shown.

For a list of the dares (rated by single knots, double, triple or super), check out this website. Google Translate will help.
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Russ cards (From Wikipedia)

Russ cards (russekort) are mock business cards that the russ will hand out to anyone that asks for them. They contain a picture, contact details, and a slogan. Usually the picture is either a funny picture of the graduate him or herself, or a drawing, picture of a celebrity, or other funny picture. The name and contact details are usually spoofs, and the slogan is a joke.

Russ will exchange such cards for fun and to remember other russ they are introduced to during the festivities. Having a large collection of other russ’ cards is a status marker, as it is regarded as a sign of popularity, especially cards from members of the opposite sex. Since the extensive festivities of the russefeiring is an excellent opportunity to meet members of the opposite sex, it is common for the cards to sport lewd jokes or suggestive remarks.

However, such cards are also very attractive to preschoolers and primary school kids, who collect them and barter them. This has led some parents to speak out against lewd content on russ cards. As a consequence, a few russ carry two sets of cards: One designed for kids, and one designed for adults and other russ.

The Controversy

What is the controversy about Russ that sparks a big debate almost every year??

Over the years, the Russ has gotten a bad name as the general behaviour of the teenagers get wilder. Drunkenness, debauchery and inconsiderate behaviour has become a common for some of these teenagers. Excessive drinking, overly casual sex and sometimes even drugs feature in russefeiring. All limits that usually govern these youth fly right out the window and many go overboard with the partying.

The Russ can be dangers to themselves and to others: driving vehicles which are not technically up-to-standard, driving under the influence of alcohol, creating a rackus in public places and general inconsiderate behaviour.

Tragically, some people (Russ and general public) have lost their lives directly or indirectly due to russefeiring. The Russ are therefore constantly reminded not to go too far.

Jesus Russ

The Christians do not shy out from russefeiring. Young Christians, who desire to, can join christian alternatives to russ: JesusRuss and KristenRuss. These set up tents at the russ events where they take care of sick and injured drunks, give out buns, being salt and light for those that realise that the partying is not as satisfying and liberating as expected…

Links relating to Russ:
Russ Main Website (Stavanger)
Russ Official Website (In Norwegian)
Stavanger Aftenblad Russ Page
Article from Aftenposten (2003)
Article from Aftenposten (2004)
Article from Aftenposten (2005)
The articles may be from a few years ago but they give you an idea of the kind of activities the Russ get up to.

photos via wiki commons

Do you have more to add about Russ? Feel free to comment below!

RUSS What Its All About and the Controversy Behind It

About Cynthia Myrnes

Cynthia is a Singaporean who has been living in Stavanger since Feb 2008 with her Norwegian husband. She works as a physiotherapist here and also owns her own petsitting service, Stavanger Petsitter, for the residents of Stavanger. In addition, she manages the Stavanger International Moms group. She loves hanging out with friends, spending time with animals, travelling and watersports such as scuba diving and wake boarding. Most of all, she is enjoying the experience of being a first time mom!