2583 BELARUS - Kupalle Holiday

2583 "Kupalle Holiday" (1921-1922), painting by Mikhail Filipovich

Kupala Night, also known as Ivan Kupala Day (Feast of St. John the Baptist; Belarusian: Купалле / Kupalle), is celebrated in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Baltic countries and Russia currently on the night of 6/7 July in the Gregorian or New Style calendar, which is 23/24 June in the Julian or Old Style calendar still used by many Orthodox Churches. The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number of Slavic rituals.

1265 BELARUS - Blowing in horn

1265 Belarusian blowing in horn

Generally speaking, the traditional musical instruments emerged from very simple objects of life that were used to produce sounds and developed into rather complicated mechanisms. One should not forget that original music instruments were used not primarily for entertainment, but as signal instruments by gatherers, hunters and shepards. Probably that the first instruments used to make sounds were the wind instruments and the percussion ones.