There are many different things that people participating in Russ have to pay for. They include: Russ clothes, your group's Russ song, Russebuss/Russebil and fixing it up, tickets to Russ weekend festivals (Tryvann, Lillehammer, & Tusenfryd), and a range of other expenses... potentially including alcohol. (In Norway, the drinking age is 18, so the large majority of Russ participants are legal to drink.)
Russ clothes can be ordered online on the Russ site where you can buy almost anything with RUSS 2013 written on it. I’ll try to explain all of this as best I can...
Overalls: All Russ participants order either overalls or a russedress (a suit kind of like a onesie). These pants are worn every single day for a little less than a month. You CAN’T wash them throughout the duration of Russetid. If you do, and anyone else finds out, one of the pant legs is cut off and you must continue to wear them everyday with only one pant leg. And that’s not just a myth, it actually happened last year to a guy from my school! These overalls can be ordered in a range of colors, and you order them based on the “track” you’re taking in high school. For example, those who are studying economics order blue overalls. Those studying farming order green, hairdressing/mechanics order black, and those studying on the normal track order red. Red is the most common, because it is for the people who are studying all of the basic subjects.
On the Russ website, you can buy sweatshirts, jackets, t-shirts, shoes, sunglasses, hats, whistles, underwear, and a range of other crazy things... You can also order Russ cards, which is your own personal card with your picture, your name, your school/graduating year, and a few lines where you can put you favorite quotes, jokes, and/or information about your Russebuss/bil.
It is very common for buses and vans to order group sweatshirts that have their group name and logo on the back, with the individual’s name or nickname on the back as well.
At the start of Russetid, there is something called the russedåpen where all Russ participants at our school are baptized by our “priest” and are given a nickname by the other people in their Russebuss/bil, which is then written on their russ hat and remains there for the remainder of Russetid. Our Russ hats have a very long black string that have a tassel on the end. The string is so long because throughout Russetid, we will tie things onto it. The things you tie onto your string mean certain crazy things you have done. Each school has their own “Russekrav” list of tasks that people can do in order to get something tied on (you are not forced to any of the tasks).
Each school has their own Russ system, but they are all based on the same idea. Our school is relatively small, but we still have fantastic Russ events. However, the big schools have larger events such as a Russ Prom. At our school, we have a Russ committee that plans parties, fundraisers, and a variety of other events. They also decide the themes for our themed parties, which we have once every month or two. Our themes so far have been: Army, Movie Characters, Christmas/Santa, and “Back to the 80s.”
The national holiday in Norway (similar to the 4th of July in America) is the 17th of May. On that day, the country celebrates its independence with parades, parties, and of course, some drinking. There is a special part of the parade just for Russ goers called the Russetog. This is where Russ vans drive through the streets with their windows and/or doors open and they hand out their russ cards (as I already explained) to the young children. It is also common to just walk as a group and hand out your cards. For young kids, it’s their mission every year to collect as many Russ cards as possible. They think it’s SO cool to have the older kids’ Russ cards, so they ask the Russ for their cards at every possible opportunity. Along with my Russ clothing package, I received a box of 900 Russ cards. I don’t think I’ll be able to give out all of those, so I’ll bring some back to the U.S. as a good memory of my Russ experience!
Next week we have something called the Russerevy, which is basically a play that all of the Russ are in. It is made up of songs, dances, and funny skits about Norwegian life and Russ. I will be taking a video of much of the play, so hopefully I can put up a video of the best parts soon after!
Russ groups often organize their own fundraisers in order to cover a portion of their Russ expenses. There are many different fundraisers, of course. Sometimes buses use a club for the night and receive a percentage of the proceeds for the night.
Groups can also make their money by asking sponsors to donate money to them in exchange for having their advertisements on the group's Russ bus or van. A “russebil” (van) is usually a large red van that can seat a maximum of 10 people. The color of the van can vary based on the track you take at school, but as I said with the overalls, red is the most common. A “russebuss” is basically a pimped out greyhound bus. They are huge party busses that are usually painted with the group’s name written on the side of the bus so everyone knows who they are.
The Russ weekend festivals are considered by many as the highlight of Russ. Tryvann is a festival where all of the buses and vans meet up for the weekend to enjoy concerts and be with the other people who are Russ from all around the country. Below is a link to the teaser for Tryvann 2013, and below that is the video for Tryvann 2012. As you will see, it’s pretty crazy, but it’s tradition! Lillehammer is the same basic idea as Tryvann, where all Russ participants meet up for concerts, parties, and the other crazy activities that go on there. Tusenfryd is an amusement park that is rented out just for Russ for the weekend, where there are concerts and rides.
There is also an event that our school’s Russ will do called the “Russerebus”. This is where all of the Russ groups at our school get together one night down by the lake and have a ridiculous competition. The groups are competing against the others to win the highest amount of points by the end of the night. These points are earned by doing a range of absolutely outrageous things at different posts along the shoreline and in the forest. Winning the Russerebus is a pretty big deal, so the buses and vans get really competitive!
I have friends in a few different buses and vans, but the van I’m closest with is a group of girls called Rehab. I know, their name may seem a bit odd for a group of 18 year olds, but it goes with their theme and song! The Russ name that a group chooses is very rarely appropriate. If it is appropriate, they are likely referring to something else that isn’t appropriate. It's kind of hilarious what names these groups come up with, because they're really clever when you hear their whole idea! Below is a link to Rehab’s song, which was actually sung by one of my friends from school named Maria Wiik. She’s incredibly talented, so much so that she made it into the top 40 for Norwegian Idol!
In my opinion, Russ is the world’s best graduation celebration. Contrary to popular belief, Russ is not just partying all the time. There are a lot of other fun events that come along with being Russ, so I feel very fortunate that I’m allowed to be a part of it all! I feel a bit odd creating a blog post solely based on Russ, but many people in the United States asked, so I answered! I hope this blog post conveys just how incredible Russ truly is.
