Letters of atheists 3.0 Hey Sobótka, Sobótka… the day is long, the night is short….

June goes by forest, forest, road and wilderness

One foot still here, the other already over the sea

The poplars leaning over the water

Whose wishes will be fulfilled by the Midsummer fire today.

Hey, hey, bonfire, bonfire

The day is long, the night is short

Time is running away like a river, like the wind

A wreath floats away somewhere,

Someone repeats your name,

Maybe Wisła, or maybe me?

(excerpt from the song Troubadours)

The calendar summer has finally come, and with it a special Slavic holiday related to the summer solstice called Sobótka or Kupala Night. In Anglo-Saxon countries it is known as Midsummer, in German Mittsonerfest and is celebrated during the shortest night of the year, which falls around June 21-22. The Catholic Church, unable in the past to eradicate the annual celebration of Sobótka from the customs derived from Slavic beliefs, made an attempt to assimilate the holiday with Christian rituals (hence the later St. John's Eve - also commonly known as Midsummer's Night, then having many borrowings from the earlier holiday) - celebrated on the night of June 23-24.

But Sobótka survived, because it is a celebration of joy and love, fertility, fire and water, sun and moon, harvest, commonly celebrated in areas inhabited by Slavic peoples, but also in a similar way in areas inhabited by Baltic, Germanic and Celtic peoples , as well as by some Finno-Ugric nations.

Jumping over burning bonfires, music, singing, dancing, letting wreaths float on the water, divination, witchcraft, looking for a fern flower, well.... and mating (it was the time allowed for free lovemaking among the young) – these were the customs that once accompanied the summer solstice of the Sun.

William Shakespeare immortalized this special night in his famous comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, which later inspired musical compositions. This theme was first used by Felix Mendelssohn in the overture of the same title, and later by Gustav Mahler in the monumental symphony No. 3.

With the beginning of summer, there is talk of cucumber season, but a lot of things start to happen in a different way. After all, it is a rich time of all art festivals, both visual and musical. Big and small festivals of classical music, jazz, rock. All kinds of happenings on the streets, squares, stations, airports, beaches. And, of course, full terraces on the streets, where the social life moves from the interiors of bars, cafes and restaurants. There are also masses of various street artists who come from different countries and give the streets and squares a special, international color. So I thought I'd invite visitors to the LA blog for a summer walk through the cities of Europe and beyond, and then share their own summer reminiscences.

In the Netherlands (the country where I live) there is a lot going on in the streets during the summer season. Amsterdam attracts everyone the most, both tourists and street performers, so in various places you can hear many different sounds from different parts of the world. Leidseplein - a famous square full of terraced cafes is one of the most popular places in Amsterdam. There are always various soloists and bands present here and there is always a lot going on. Other popular places are De Dam, Rijksmuseum. Great Russian artists perform here, playing classical music at a very high level. The place is chosen by them not by accident, because visitors to the museum can usually appreciate their craftsmanship.

There is also one special summer event, the Prinsengrachtconcert, which has been held for many years around August 20 on one of the canals (grachten in Dutch) in Amsterdam - Prinsengracht. of course, along the banks of the Gracht. Outstanding, world-famous soloists of classical music always give concerts. The song Aan de Amsterdamse grachten is traditionally performed at the end. The melody is played first by the artists, and then the chorus is sung by the entire amused audience.

Ale and Rotterdam has two major summer events. North See Jazz Festival, where the most famous jazz musicians in the world have been coming for years, and Zomercarnaval. gathering crowds of spectators.

In neighboring Belgium, I once heard a similar Beatbox performance in Brussels. It aroused great interest of passers-by.

In the square of distant Canberra, a young, talented Australian boy plays his improvisation on the violin with passion

In another part of the world, in Ottawa - they dance Zorba in the street.

The great guitar virtuoso Estas Tonne holds a session on the street in Madrid

If Spain - then of course Flamenco in Granada, in the square in front of the cathedral.

In Galway, Ireland, a young dancer shows off her great skills.

In Piazza del Pantheon in Rome you can hear Piazzoli's Libertango.

In San Marco square in Venice - Russians dance the Kalinka

Talented girls from Norilsk sing Young Cossack in Moscow on Red Square

Artists use not only streets and squares for their performances.

The popular arcade in Brussels is full of artists. The Trilogi team also appeared there with the popular theme from the movie Mission Impossible.

In France, artists used one of the Carrefour Market supermarkets as a backdrop to show shoppers two excerpts from the musical Mamma Mia.

In Zurich, during the Zurich Tanzt Festival, the Tonhalle Orchestra performs Ravel's Bolero. in a huge train station

In the Mexcico City shopping center, the attention of passers-by is drawn to the dancing duo The time of my life. from Dirty Dancing.

And on the street in Santa Monica, 11-year-old Karolina Protsenko plays Lambada with great ease, delighting both the adult audience and the youngest listeners.

I will end my summer journey with a special event in Poland, in Kostrzyn nad Odrą. This is the rockfestival of Jerzy Owsiak and his Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity - Przystanek Woodstok, organized since 1995. Last year it changed its name to Pol'and Rock Festival. This great event enjoys great popularity , was and is a thorn in the side of all types who are alien to spontaneity and joy of fun. These include in the first place the Penal Code and its government henchmen. Despite countless obstacles and slander, the festival will also take place on August 1-2 this year.

I have read many enthusiastic statements of the participants of the festival on youtube linksI liked one especially You don't come to Woodstock, you come back to WoodstockThere is another very significant one - I'll just show you why I love WoodstockSuch a huge number of participants and enthusiasts of the Most Beautiful Festival in the World can always defend this beautiful event against the temptations of all dwarf gloomy people. This is what I wish Jerzy Owsiak and his Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

basia.n

ps.for everyone from me let Eliane Elias sing the summer samba Samba de Verao- Sonice and Oskar Peterson will play Gershwin < a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPlU9xYmWKI">Summertime