Russ

Russ (Norwegian), rus (Danish) and Russ (Swedish) is a cultural phenomenon and tradition in the Scandinavian countries Norway and Denmark. more...

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In Norway, students who graduate from high school are called russ and celebrate with festivities (russefeiring) during the first few weeks of May. In Denmark, first-year college students are called rus. This article focuses on the Norwegian celebration.

Etymology

The word rus may come from Latin, Cornua Depositurus, to put aside one's horns ; in Norwegian, an extra s was added for ease of pronunciation and to avoid confusion with the word "rus", which means "intoxication".

History

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. To be enrolled at the university, students had to pass the Examen Artium. 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 then on, the young persons had the right to call themselves students.

The modern Norwegian russ tradition dates back to 1905, when the red russ caps were introduced. The caps were initially only used by boys, and were inspired by German students, who in 1904 wore red caps when they visited Norway. In 1916, blue caps were introduced at the Oslo Handelsgymnasium, a high school specializing in economics.

The tradition of celebrating enrollment at a university is today continued in Denmark, but the former rituals or ceremonies are no longer practiced. Danish college students during their first week have rus festivities (rusuge), which in recent years mostly consist of a few parties where new students can get to know each other.

In Norway the tradition has been, for about a century, to celebrate the end of 13 years of school. The russ festivities (russefeiring) in Norway, which can last several weeks, are today a much more important event than the rusuge for new students in Denmark.

However, this does not mean that Danish youths do not celebrate the end of secondary education. In Denmark - as in Sweden - after completion of the student exam ("studentereksamen" - the Danish equivalent of the U.S. high school degree) the tradition is now to celebrate the end of secondary education by driving about either in a lorry or a horse and cart, and partake in festivities amongst the families of the graduating students. These celebrations often also go on for several days or weeks.

Read more at Wikipedia.org