h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been trying to explain this tradition to my friends in the US, and it's virtually impossible to make any sense to them doing it. At least I now have this URL to give them some idea of what it's about, although those knot rules sounded kinda lame.. I don't know when this was written but the stuff I'll have to do in a few months is a bit more extreme. It also seems like there's more humor in them now.

I did think there was too much emphasis on just the clothes and the rules. These things really aren't the most important thing for the russ, it's the parties and the buses and vans. Everyone knows that for high school graduates, may is more about huge, loud and crazy parties for three weeks straight than anything else. And you can't be explaining about this tradition without mentioning the buses. Afterall, most of the parties would suck without them.

Thanks tho, this phenomenon is hard to explain to foreigners and your article is very helpful.

I'm glad you found the article useful.

Frankly, I think it pretty much goes without saying that students at the end of their courses are likely to drink and party a great deal, no matter where they are in the world. The article focuses more on the types of celebration and competition that are unique to Norway.

To clearify: The partying is done in the weeks before and during our exams, not afterwards.

And as well, the "bus tradition" as I percieve it, is non-existent outside the Oslo area. In the rest of the country it's mostly a question of renovating crappy cars and barely making them drive (legally or no), so that you have a way of getting around. Not a few knots also requires a car in some manner.

The clothes, the knots and the rivalry between schools are definitely important. It's usual to elect Terror-chiefs, who organise actions against other schools and keep the blacklists.

And as said in one of the other conversations; there's nothing like "white russ", because there's nothing like "medical students" in our secondary school, and social studies dress in red like the rest of those taking study-specialising programs.

It should really be rewritten, it's far from extensive and detailed enough to explain the tradition to foreigners, because this tradition is nothing but Norwegian. Not even our brothering countries Sweden and Denmark practices something similar.