An Introduction to Russefeiring and What To Expect

From as early as April, Norwegian students celebrate through to May. This long celebration is used to mark the end of thirteen years in school and is known as Russefeiring. The Russefeiring, better known as Russ, is an event marked by scholars aged eighteen wearing red, blue, black, or green overalls. The overalls symbolize scholar’s path of studying showcasing several learning institutes and programs.

The event begins around April 20th, which is also a festive day for marijuana enthusiasts and users. The old event runs through to the seventeenth day of May.

Origin of the Russefeiring Party

The modern celebrations date back to 1905. During this period, the red russefeiring hats (russelue) got included in graduation celebrations as a symbol of the imminent approval into the society of higher learning. The hats were initially for male students who took the idea from German scholars who wore the caps when visiting Norway in the 20th century. In 1916 however, the blue hats introduced. The introduction was done at the Oslo Commerce School. The institution is a prestigious high school that focuses on economics. The blue caps are for separating these graduates from the common ones.

What to Expect

Apart from celebrating twelve to thirteen years of compulsory learning, the event has also become a passage to adulthood as well as a farewell to classmates since everyone is soon to go their way. The celebration is voluntary, and the extent of involvement varies from one person to another. Also, the event features a lot of alcohol use. However, since there are students from religious groups that do not tolerate drinking of alcohol and drug use, they create their event, for instance, the Christian russ known as the “kristenruss.”

Overall Colour Symbolism

Various kinds of russ differ in the shade of the traditional uniforms and caps most scholars have during the celebrations. The shade of the outfit identifies the study program the person is completing. Nonetheless, in other areas like Stavanger, the institutions determine the color. In these regions, if the headmaster was a red russ (rødruss), then the pupils will also be red regardless of the course they study. However, vocational scholars remain to be black russ (svartruss).

There is a lot more to learn about the russ festivals. Nonetheless, the information above should provide helpful insight into the celebrations and what one should expect.