Norway Day

Today is Norway Day, hooray! I made a pledge not to get infected by the buoyant spirit of Norwegian self-celebration, but walking in to work this morning, I couldn't help but feel the excitement. Lesson learned: Dress up when you leave the house on Norway day. Percentage of chaps in suit and tie: 100. Except radioactive man (unshaven, unkempt, red fleece, fat pants). Result: Dirty looks from passers-bye. There are flags everywhere - almost as if they'd won the world cup. Which of course they never will, hihi (Germany won it 3 times, by the way). I made it into the office unscathed - it's a haven of tranquility on a public holiday. Outside, the parades marched through town all morning, complete with brass bands and the odd gun shot from the festning.

Norway Day is also the culmination of the russe celebrations. Russe (pronounced ry-sse) are the high-school graduates. Their main party period is between May 1 and Norway day. The russe tradition consists of: Getting an old, rusty, red russebil (VW bus, Ford Transit or such like), paint the names of the gang of russe who own it in big white letters all over the bil. Driving around town, honking their customised horns and being a general nuisance. Shooting water pistols at little kiddies. Wearing red dungarees or low riders with Norwegian flags on them. In the weeks before Norway Day, the russe challenge each other to a series of dares. These include things like kissing a police man, brushing your teeth with fjord water, and running across the main square naked (or so I am told). Each challenge earns a ribbon which goes on their hat. During the Norway Day parade, they hand out russe cards, little red business cards with their photo and a joke on it (I had the weirdest flashback of London phone booths). Anyway, things have cooled down now, along with the weather. I guess the russe are taking a well-deserved snooze in their russebils (I understand they don't get much sleep in the run-up to ND). And for another year, my little Norwegian town falls into its usual, slow pace of life. Happy Norway Day, and good luck all you russe!