Russ

While it’s customary in America for parents to have a party with friends and family for their kids when they graduate from high school, that’s not the case in Norway.  The party and gifts happen at Confirmation time, when the children are in 8^th grade.  By the time they finish high school, they are 19, and I’m not sure they even get a “congratulations” out of the deal.

But Norwegians are a clever bunch, and their high school graduates have figured out their own special way to celebrate their accomplishments – with something called “Russ,” pronounced “roose.”

Russ has been going on for centuries, but I’m sure it’s changed quite a bit over the years. From the first of May until the 17^th, all “seniors” identify themselves as such by wearing bright red bib-overalls, which they aren’t allowed to wash or take off, except to sleep, the entire time.  The overalls have all kinds of decals on them, including their name, the year, and various slogans.  They are like walking billboards, and hard to miss.

For kids who can afford it, they pool their money and buy a Russbil  - a mini van that’s been painted red.  They paint the names of all the owners on the van and drive it around town during those seventeen days.  They often attach loud speakers or strobe lights.  Again, hard to miss.

The soon-to-be graduates party every night during Russ.  Each graduating class makes up their own “challenges” - think “prank” - and the kids go about during those Russ days, trying to accomplish them.  They are often illegal, dangerous, rude and/or crude.  They get appropriate tokens that attach to the tassel on their cap for each task achieved.  Their cap is worn only on the final day of Russ, which they proudly display during the 17^th of May parade.

One evening I was walking on the sidewalk and a Russbil went by and someone threw a water balloon at me.  They didn’t achieve that challenge because they missed me, but that’s on the mild side of the kinds of things they do.  A lot of the challenges have to do with public nudity, sex and drinking.  Again, hard to miss. 

For an otherwise reserved group of people, the Russ activities are so contrary to the rest of a Norwegian’s life.  It reminds me of the two years that Amish kids get set free before they must decide whether they will adhere to their parent’s beliefs or be shunned for life.  At least the Norwegians only cut loose for seventeen days and nothing they do gets them in real trouble, as the police have an amazing tolerance for them.

Russ kids design bright red business cards with a crazy picture of themselves on it and some kind of quote, which each year gets raunchier.  They trade them among themselves but it’s also a huge craze for younger kids to collect them, like American kids used to collect baseball cards.   But with the horribly crude slogans on them, parents aren’t too thrilled now with this Russ tradition.  Perhaps that’s why, when they graduate, they don’t get a thing.