[su_vimeo url=”http://vimeo.com/14340190″]

There’s something about this little music video (featuring the song “Big Day,” by Norwegian electronica artist Torgny)  that captures the hopeful-sad exhilaration and melancholy of saying goodbye to high school and heading out into the world.

During late April and May, it’s tradition for Scandinavian seniors to celebrate with loud music and pranks.  They also run laps, kiss police officers, crawl about the streets, sleep in trees, and, of course, drink.  They call it “Russ,” a word that comes from the last syllable of Latin’s “Coruna Depositurus”– which means “to put down the horns.”

In other words, it’s a kind of Rumspringa gone wilder– a way to get the animal out of you and have a good time before you have to grow up and face the responsibilities of all that lies ahead.  As the song says, “Here comes your future with the weight of ancient danger…”

Know of any other unique traditions like this?  If so, we want to hear about them.