Norwegian teenagers (16-19 years old) celebrate their high school graduation through Russfeiring, a unique 30-day party tradition that begins before they even take their final exams. Students form groups, pool money to purchase party buses (costing 800,000 to 1.7 million kroner), hire artists to create original songs that sometimes chart in Norway's top 50, and wear traditional Bunad outfits or custom-colored jumpsuits. The celebration includes Russekort drink vouchers, concerts, and parties, with total costs reaching up to 300,000 USD per group. This tradition represents a significant cultural rite of passage that emphasizes community, celebration, and the joy of completing high school.
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Norwegian Graduation π³π΄ | American Reacts
Added:30 days? What does he mean 30 days consecutively? This is insane. That is just blowing my mind. I can't comprehend that. Oh my gosh, my ears are about to explode. Whoa, I love that dress. What is going on here?
What is up? Welcome back. Today we're reacting to some videos about Norwegian graduation. Recently I did one about a Swedish graduation and it was nuts. I love the tradition, the classiness, but what is Norway's graduation all about? I kept reading about it in comments and so that's why I had to check it out. What's up? If you haven't met me yet, my name is Aaron and this is Aaron on a Reacts.
Through this channel I'm discovering everything about Europe. Each country is so unique and beautiful and I want to know everything about all of them and that is what this journey is all about.
So if you want to join that journey and be a part of that, make sure you hit like and subscribe and you're going to see another video just like this one in the future. But now let's see what Norwegian graduation is all about. Let's go.
>> [music] >> Oh my gosh, so many.
What are these uh pants they got on?
They all have their name on it, last name it looks like. We've got a white top, red pants.
Oh, they're loving that. They're loving that.
>> [music] [singing] >> Oh, I like these traditional outfits right here. Oh, that's awesome. Maybe we're going to see more of that here.
Wow, okay.
>> [music] >> Wow, this is great. This is great.
All right, let's see what the comments are saying here. Super love this.
Beautiful celebration and wonderful sharing. Norway actually looks good.
Wonderful, my friend. Happy Sunday. Hope the atmosphere was amazing. Great video, great video. Everyone is being sweet.
Let's see what the next one looks like.
>> Here's something Norwegians do that no one will understand.
>> Let's go.
>> russetiden, which is basically a party for 30 days con- >> 30 days? What does he mean 30 days consecutively?
>> consecutively, celebrating the graduation from high school. So, what they do is that friends [music] form groups, buy a van or a bus together.
>> Hold on a second. 30 days, you form a you form a group, you buy a bus together.
What I'm just blown away already.
>> according to a concept they've made for it. Dressed up in red or blue, then paying artist or celebrity to make a song for them.
>> You're kidding.
>> Often the songs made are the ones topping the hit list in Norway. Some actually use up to $10,000 on this 30-day >> You're kidding.
>> Then straight after russetiden is when they actually have the exams. So, they've been celebrating before even knowing if they'll graduate. I know >> That doesn't make any sense. That doesn't make any sense.
>> to anyone, but it's tradition.
>> That's insane. That is absolutely nuts.
Norway, you're crazy.
What? 30 days straight, $10,000, you form groups, it's a choreographed, and you haven't even graduated yet.
What's this all about? Let's see if there's any more things in the comments here. It also has green, black, gold, and rainbow. I'm Norwegian. What does that mean? What do you mean? It means these jumpsuits or what is that supposed to mean? Death definition of I spoke too soon. Oh, thank you for explaining. I saw a Norwegian mini-series where the girl got in a party van and I wasn't sure why. In Denmark, too, not 100% but close. Now I see, I watched Skam. Well, I don't know what that means. What how much money does Norwegian kids have? I mean, I know you're rich kids of Scandinavia, but jeez, 10,000? That is awesome on so many levels. You have red, blue, green, black, and even pink. But in the old days, it had different colors depending on what you were going to school for, lol. The problem is the bus usually costs like 4 to 5 million.
What? Why not having the exams before?
Yeah, that's that's what I would think, too. It's red, blue, black, or gold.
Watch Europa: The Last Battle. The documentary shocked me and changed my whole life, okay. Wow, interesting.
Interesting. Are we going to learn more about it? I I kind of like knowing this.
I want to see some of the traditional outfits, though. May 17th, is this the same thing or is this something different?
What are they giving out right here? I see they have the they red pants.
>> [music] >> Wow.
What are they giving out? Russekort, please. I don't know what that means.
What is the card for? Oh, it's a drink voucher to get a rus drink. We drink a lot.
Happy Norway, yes. The roses, the roses, the roses. Smiley face, smiley face.
Everyone's being happy. Is is this the way of students inviting people to their party or or or what is this? If you have a you graduated high school in Norway.
What?
>> [music] >> This is insane. This is absolutely insanity.
>> [music] >> That is all college or high school students who just graduated.
>> [music] >> These Norwegians really do party. They really do party. This looks nuts. Oh my gosh.
Okay, okay.
>> So, as an American, here's a fun fact about Norway.
>> All right, let's go. Let's go.
>> So, first off, Norwegians love to party.
And for teenagers who are about to graduate high school, I think for them it's like 10th or 11th grade.
>> 10th or 11th grade, so you're like 16 or 17 years old. Wow, that's that's pretty young. I mean I mean Americans graduate typically at 18, 17 or 18 years old from high school, so okay.
>> So, these kids throw [music] a huge 30-day straight celebration where they do nothing but drink, [music] party, concerts, all this kind of stuff. And this whole thing is called like rusferding or something like that.
Rusferding.
I think.
I don't know. But, before the celebration even starts, there's a lot that goes into this, [music] y'all.
First, they get those little sweatsuits you see there.
>> The sweatsuit's okay.
>> So, like certain There's certain groups of these. So, like they'll have their certain colors or whatever, and then they'll put like their group on the [music] sweatsuits.
>> Oh, that's what the name is. It's the group name. It's not the last name of them, okay.
>> even make Instagram page just for that one celebration. But, that's not the craziest part.
>> [music] >> For this one 30-day celebration, their little group, like each group, invest in a bus.
>> That answer's blown my mind. I can't comprehend that.
>> Each kid spends a crazy amount of money.
I'm not sure how much each person spends, but these buses are thousands of dollars. And they buy these buses for one event.
>> One 30-day event, though.
>> 30 days, but still. And I honestly have no clue what happens after What happens with the bus, but they bought it. I don't know if they sell it. I don't know. But, they use the bus to go to all different kind of concerts and parties and stuff.
>> What?
>> that they like hire bus drivers or even some parents drive the bus. But, me being a father now and thinking about a 30-day long party, like 30 days straight.
>> That's a lot. That's a lot of time.
>> I don't know how I feel about that now, bro.
I'm just having a hard time understanding how you can possibly drink and party for 30 days in a row.
>> Yeah, that that doesn't get through my mind. That that's that's really hard for me to comprehend. Maybe Norwegians are just on a different level. Maybe they just handle alcohol like insanely well.
>> Like, do you Norwegians never get tired?
Yeah, man. Helena, if you're watching this in the future, no.
>> [gasps] >> That's his daughter. That's awesome.
13th grade, if you need a number for it, some finish in 12th year, okay. 17 days.
It's not 30 days. I don't think I was sober 1 minute of those 30 days when I had mine. You go into school drunk, and then sometimes you drink at school, too.
What? As a Norwegian, I still can't stand understand Russe. I do find it a waste of money and time. It's when they're 19. Oh, they're 19. Okay, so they're not 16 or 17. Okay. The suits colors depends on what school you went to. Oh, interesting. And the worst part is that they're having their final exam during a time which can change their whole life if they do badly.
I don't understand. I don't understand.
They also make a song for this party at May, the month Norway's national holiday is in and it's called russetiden.
Interesting. Number one, it's not just drinking. You get, I don't know the right word, so I'm just going to call it quest and you do those and you can stay sober. We get tired, but we move. 12th or 13th grade based on what type of high school you go to. Oh, so interesting. If my mama says no to Russefering, I'll literally cry for 30 days.
I have to say the bus thing is special for the South Norway. North don't. They save a lot of money that way. Grand total spent can be upwards of 300,000 USD.
Oh my gosh. Buses often cost between 800,000 to 1.7 million kroner. And that's just the bus and the sound system. Y'all are crazy. Y'all are crazy.
Norwegian friends, can you explain a bit more?
This is really confusing me. I'm a bit I'm a bit worried for you. This is nuts.
Okay, 17th of May.
Is this when the graduation day starts?
Maybe that would be good to know.
>> [music] >> I'm loving their dresses.
>> [music] >> Oh, the guys got the outfits, too.
All right, let's see these outfits one more time. Wow. Uh I really like how classy this looks. By the way, she looks so like if I was to put a Norwegian person in my mind and say, "Okay, that girl over there is Norwegian." She looks completely Norwegian to me. Maybe I mean, obviously that's what the people from here look like, but even as an American I can point that out. Wow, I I really love her outfit, seriously. I love the traditional dresses and stuff like that. It's really a beautiful way to celebrate. And the guys' outfits, too, I love. But let's see. Um so, we have bells. We have a some kind of scarf or I don't know what you would call this. Some kind of something tied around the neck. Does the hairband Is that just her or does that also go along with this kind of outfit? I'm curious.
Okay, so she has a pattern, too. She has some kind of belt. She also has a hairband. So, maybe the hairband does go with it. That's interesting. Okay, wow.
I'm loving it. My man having the time of his life. Yeah, this guy right here, he's loving it. Queens and kings.
>> [laughter] >> That's [snorts and clears throat] awesome. Most beautiful traditional clothes on Earth. I agree, they're really really stunning. Respectfully to all of you. Dang, he's saying they're beautiful. Lovelies, what in the midsummer is going on? The Frozen crew.
Frozen crew, that's awesome. Wait, stop moving so fast so I can see the outfits.
Okay, I don't know what's going on, but okay. The support The support is real.
I'm loving this. What is this and how can I join? I don't know how I ended up on Norway Tik Tok, but I'm not complaining about it. This is really an awesome video. Wow, okay. I'm seeing so much May 17th stuff. I What is May 17th?
I don't know anything about that. What is that?
Okay, Norway or Sweden?
>> [music] >> This is Sweden. This is Sweden, yeah.
versus Norwegian Oh my gosh, my ears are about to explode.
Oh my gosh.
Sweden, okay, more chill, more chill.
What?
This is a graduation celebration?
Oh my gosh.
>> [music] >> I'm blown away. I'm blown away by this.
Norway, you're crazy.
>> Don't let the bass get you.
>> Switch.
>> Oh my god. Look how I mean, there's so much vibration. You can't even see anything.
This is crazy. Bro, Norwegian graduation is so peak, but you need headphones unless you want to go deaf. Deaf. It's a Norwegian Norwegian Norwegian Norwegian.
I can't read any of these. Maybe I can just show you real quick. Maybe you can read these. Con- I see it's concert.
Russ, that's his that's his celebration.
Well, I mean, that's just a it's completely different. Like it seems like the Norwegian one is just insane party, whereas the Swedish one is more, hmm, how to say? It's not as wild. It's not as wild. All right, here we go. Get dressed with me. Bunad. Which country is this outfit for? Okay.
For graduation.
>> [music] >> Again, the traditional dress. I really love the traditional outfits.
With mom. Aw, that's nice.
Woah, she's got a cover, too. That's pretty cool.
>> [music] >> What is this little bag? Wow.
Do people in Norway wear this kind of stuff outside of graduation? Because this is such a nice outfit. I would love to hear that people wore this. Just That's an amazing outfit. Which country is this outfit for? So pretty. Making a bunad was one of the most difficult outfits I've ever made for myself. Made it for yourself? Wait, wait, wait. My Norwegian friends, do you make this for yourself? Oh my gosh. That would be so incredible. That makes it even more special.
Beautiful to keep traditions and share this to generations to come.
Congratulations and you look stunning.
Wow, that just is beautiful. Just curious, what do you usually international students wear to graduation if Norwegians wear their traditional dress? That's a good question. What do international people wear?
Very pretty, sweetie. I really love your outfit. I love how in Norway the young people wear traditional clothes, too. In Finland, I've never seen anyone younger than 50 wear one. Oh, that's too bad. In Finland, they don't keep the tradition, I guess.
>> [music] >> What is this? What's going on here? She just put a ring on.
What is this ring?
>> [music] >> What does that mean?
>> [music] >> Wow, I love that dress.
>> [music] >> That's amazing. Wow, that's really amazing. I love the colors and the details. Seriously, I love it. What is the ring though? What is that? Also, I guess it kind of ties into earlier when I asked do people make their own dresses like the last video or do they not? If they do, how do they try to pick the colors? Is it depending on your region?
Is it depending on your school? Is it depending on your family? Um how do they How do they pick these colors?
Wow, really I really love the outfits.
Norwegian graduation party.
>> [music] >> That's insane.
That was literally GE easy. And people say Norway sucks. You wouldn't have survived a three-week contest party and drinking. Russ is hectic. Only Vikings can handle that.
Russ for life. I love how everyone's tagging people. This looks amazing.
Seriously, it looks like these Norwegians well, Norwegian people, if you're Norwegian watching this, it seems like you really make the most of graduating high school. That's kind of nice to see, to be honest. Maybe it's a little a little too hectic for everybody else except the people graduating, but it's something that every um person graduating can look forward to in the generations to come, also.
Oh, HERE WE GO.
OH!
>> [music] >> THAT'S INSANE. THIS IS one of those party buses, okay.
I don't understand.
That can't be enjoyable.
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
That looks insane.
They built that themselves.
>> [music] >> That's in- that's just nuts. Completely nuts. What's the fourth song? Oh, we got a lot of Norwegian comments here. I don't see I can't I can't understand.
Anyways, that bus looked insane. Look at it Let's look at it one more time.
Is there a certain um pattern theme we're going for? Is that Ice Cube on the back? What is going on here? I had no idea this is how Norwegians celebrate graduation.
Just absolute party.
>> [music] >> Y'all are crazy. My Norwegian friends, y'all are crazy. They pick up random people party with them. This doesn't happen in my country. We party with our class driving around. No, invited to my friend. Okay, interesting. Wow, um I don't even know what to say. Norwegian graduation is absolutely nuts. It looks insane. It is insane. Do you really spend that much money? That would be my question. Also, um these concerts like, you know, G-Eazy for example, he was singing on stage. Is there really that many people at the concert? Like, how do they hire these huge artists? They get a song made for them from a favorite celebrity and it goes to top 15 in the charts. What?
And how big are these groups of people that raise this money for these vans?
Because, for example here, there's I don't know, there's 15 girls in this last video. There's got to be more people than that buying just this this van. It's got to be like, I don't know, 100 or something grouping up or 50.
Yeah, I have so many questions, uh but this looks absolutely nuts. I can't imagine having some kind of graduation like that. In the US, it was completely different. We did do a graduation trip to the Bahamas, so that was pretty cool.
That was an amazing experience, but it was for like 4 days. So, it's a little different than 30. So, anyways, I'm absolutely loving learning about Norway and in this video the graduation was so unique and cool to see. If you want to see another video just like this in the future, make sure you hit like and subscribe. If you have any video recommendations, put those down below in the Google form. And I got to give a shoutout always to my channel members.
If you're a channel member, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. It means the world to me to have your support. And yeah, I'm just going to keep bringing you those videos as a thank you to you first. I hope you have the best day, morning, evening, and day you have [clears throat] ever had and I hope to see you in the next video.
Cheers.
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