Are there any Norwegians here? )

[Novosedoff]

Hi,

I am just curious about the history of Russefeiring festival and the etymology of word Russ. Where does the word come from, and what did it mean, lets say, 500 or 1000 years ago? 🙂

Thanks

[guy]

I had to look that one up:

Quote

”The modern Norwegian russefeiring dates back to 1905, when the red russ caps (russelue) were introduced to graduation celebrations as a sign of the imminent acceptance into the system of higher education.”

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russefeiring

Edited February 2 by guy

[Novosedoff]

Thanks. Yes, I read this too, but in modern Norwegian language red ain't russ, but rød.

By 1905 Russia hadn't turned into a commie land yet, so reddish Soviet attributes (like red flags etc) had not become widespread and recognised by the world yet.

The thing is that undergraduates of the economic schools in Norway wear blue caps and are called Russ too. So the word apparently has more to do with the status of adult when a young person has reached the full legal age of 18 y.o. But why would Norwegians choose the word Russ to denote such thing?

So presumably in the past the word Russ could have some different connotations for Norwegians. That's why I asked.

Edited September 25, 2021 by Novosedoff