Russefeiring
Russ celebrations normally happen before the final term exam for the high school students before they are off to university or college.
[8] In 1905, the red russ caps (russelue) were introduced to graduation celebrations as a sign of the imminent acceptance into the system of higher education.
Therefore, the growing festivities also led to increased alcohol consumption, and in the 1970s the tradition of buying old cars, vans, buses, and even lorries and painting them in the same colours as the overalls became common.
[citation needed] These cars would be extensively decorated, and serve as mobile homes and party venues for the russ during the russefeiring.
They would be outfitted with tables, chairs, bunk beds, sound and lighting systems, and melodic horns.
Over the 1980s it became fairly common to rip the cargo beds off lorries and build log cabins on the frames instead.
This, together with the no-tolerance policy on alcohol consumption by drivers introduced in the late 1990s, greatly reduced the number of accidents involving russ vehicles.
[citation needed] Russ cars and buses would gather for impromptu partying on school grounds, parking lots, beaches and other suitable places.
In an attempt to reduce the extent of the celebrations, some of the final exams in public schools were moved to early May.
[citation needed] While russefeiring is optional, there are few pupils who do not participate in any way, although the extent of involvement varies individually.
However, there are pupils who, due to personal or religious reasons, do not consume alcohol, and therefore object to the nature of many of the celebrations, which contribute to its image as the treukersfylla 'the three-week binge'.
[citation needed] It is common to appoint a russ president, a party coordinator, a newspaper editor, journalists, a contraceptive supervisor, and other amusing titles.
[citation needed] Ståkuka translates roughly to 'the noisy week', but there is a play on words involved as ståkuk literally means 'erect penis'.
[citation needed] The knot rules are sometimes criticized because they can involve illegal acts, such as public nudity or public sexual intercourse, outright assault and possibly self-harming actions such as consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short span of time (earning a beer cap or wine cork).
Other more benign tasks exist, such as putting a for sale sign on a police car, or spending the night at a teacher's house and making him/her breakfast in the morning, all without being noticed.
Counting both national and local lists, there can be hundreds of different tasks that can be performed to gain knots, with huge varieties between districts and individual schools.
Some of the previous knots have been physically dangerous, such as drinking 24 bottles of beer within 24 hours, or placing half a box of snus under one's lip for a certain period of time.
In eastern Norway, such as the capital Oslo, the posh suburb of Bærum, and other surrounding cities and areas, russ often choose to have a full-scale bus.
Inexperienced and intoxicated drivers, and in some cases even highly flammable alcohol spills, have contributed to fatal traffic accidents and fires in these vehicles.
Other accessories include sweatshirts and caps with the group's chosen logo and a bus song or slogan.
[citation needed] While some are willing to spend very high sums of money during the russ festivities, mostly on the van or bus but also on clothes, effects, parties (there are special happenings for russ all over the country) and alcohol, most who invest in a vehicle at all aim to buy a cheap van together with a group of friends.
[citation needed] It is customary to spend substantial amounts of time working on the vehicle, finding a concept, refurbishing the inside, painting the outside and applying for funding during the weeks (and sometimes years) before the festivities start.
These events feature shops selling alcohol and food, international artist performances and most importantly, russekåringen (lit.
[citation needed] Most russ have personalized calling cards featuring their name, photograph, phone number, address, and a short slogan or joke.
In Sweden, for example, it can be a student revue, in Denmark a tour with the platform truck,[12][13] which is decorated with birch.
Individuals also wear special colored (red, blue, black, green, orange, and pink) costumes.
