|
Special 'Star Boy Training' will be on offer in Oulu this autumn for any young street actor who wants it.
 Tierna boys on stage in Oulu's Rotuaari
The 'Star Boy School' will be provided for school children of both sexes, a joint venture organised by the Oulu Lutheran Church and the 'Star Boy Society.' The school will offer the eager young performers lessons in singing, practice sessions of the star boy performance and information on the history of the tradition. It will open its doors at the beginning of October and continue right up to the beginning of the performance season in December.
The 'Star Boy Society' was established in Oulu in 2005 to 'promote, develop and co-ordinate' the star boy tradition in and around the city. According to the society, the 'star boys' are the 'brightest stars' of the Christmas season.
'The brightest stars of the season are of course the Tierna Boys, who make their rounds singing the traditional Christmas story. The Tierna Boys tradition is alive and well in Oulu.' The society claim that the city's first 'star boys' competition was in Rotuaari in 1933. The tradition effectively began in Oulu and remains popular.
The tradition originally came to Finland from Sweden and derives from Medieval Mystery Plays popular throughout Scandinavia. There are four characters in the play, which is performed in the street and sometimes in pubs: Herod, the King of the Moors (whose face is usually blacked-up), the Star and Knight. They do battle in a ritualised performance and sing traditional songs, many of which have a pre-Christin origin.
The songs can vary slightly and under Russian rule some of the songs were changed to praise the Tzar.
|
