Halloween万圣节

万圣节October31stisHalloweenHalloweenisoneoftheworld’soldestholidays,celebratedinseveralcountriesaroundtheglobeincludingtheUSA,Canada,England,Ireland,Scotland,Mexico,LatinAmerica,andSpain.万圣节是世界上最老的节日之一，在10月31日这天，有许多国家，如：美国,加拿大,英格兰,爱尔兰,苏格兰,墨西哥,拉丁美洲,西班牙等，都会庆祝万圣节的来临。Halloween’soriginsdatebacktotheancientCelticfestivalofSamhain(pronouncedsow-in).TheCelticpeopleslivedover2,000yearsagoIntheareathatisnowIreland,theUnitedKingdom,andNorthernFrance.在2000多年前的爱尔兰地区及法国北部，住着一群凯尔特人，而万圣节就是起源于古塞尔特人的一个叫做Samhain的节庆。FortheCelticpeoples,theNewYearwascelebratedonNovember1stofeveryyear.ThisdatemarkedtheendofSummerandthebeginningofWinter.FortheCelticpeoples,theNewYearwascelebratedonNovember1stofeveryyear.ThisdatemarkedtheendofSummerandthebeginningofWinter.Thistimeofyearwasoftenassociatedwithhumandeath.凯尔特人选在每年11月1日庆祝新年，正值夏天结束，冬天刚开始的时节多半让人联想到黑暗的死亡。TheCeltsbelievedthatonthenightbeforethenewyear,theboundarybetweentheworldsofthelivingandthedeadbecameblurredasthedeadsearchedfortheafterlife.Thus,onthenightofOctober31st,theycelebratedSamhain,whenitwasbelievedthattheghostsofthedeadreturnedtoEarthtocausemischiefandtrouble.凯尔特人相信在新年的前一晚，阴间和阳间的大门不再门禁森严，此时阴间的鬼魂会趁机跑出来，为阳间的人们带来厄运。所以，在十月三十一日晚上，凯尔特人会庆祝Samhain这个节日，以趋魔避邪。Tocommemoratetheevent,peoplebuilthugesacredbonfireswhereanimalsandcropsweresacrificedtotheGodsforprotection,andtohelpscareghostsaway.TheCeltsalsoworecostumestodisguisethemselves,inanattempttoconfusethespiritsroamingtheEarth.凯尔特人借着神圣的营火，燃烧献祭的动物和尸体，以赶走可怕的鬼魂并祈求神的保护。同时，凯尔特人也会假扮成鬼的样子，企图混淆跑到阳间的鬼魂。TheImpactofChristianityBytheA.D.800’s,theinfluenceofChristianityhadspreadintoCelticlands.PopeBonifaceIVdesignatedNovember1stAllSaintsDay,atimetohonorSaintsandMartyrs.ItwasknownasAllHallowmas.Thus,October31stbecameknownasAllHallowsEve,andeventuallywasshortenedtothecurrentdaytitle,Halloween.西元八百年時，基督教傳入塞爾特人居住的區域。當時的教宗明訂十一月一日為萬聖節AllSaintsDay，又稱AllHallowmas，來紀念所有的聖人和騎士。因此，十月三十一日就成了萬聖節前夕，英文稱之AllHallowsEve，而後來人們便簡稱十月三十一日為Halloween。Evenlater,inA.D.1000,theChristianchurchmadeNovember2ndAllSoul’sDay,adaytohonorthedead.Itwascelebratedwithbigbonfires,parades,anddressingupincostumesassaints,angels,anddevils.Together,thethreecelebrations,AllHallowsEve,AllSaints’DayandAllSouls’Day,werecalledHallowmas.公元一千年左右，基督教订定十一月二日为AllSouls’Day(万灵节)来纪念所有的死去的灵魂。借着大型营火，游行和变装打扮成圣人，天使或恶灵的方式来庆祝。综合这三个节日AllHallowsEve(万圣节前夕)，AllSaints’Day(万圣节)和AllSouls’Day(万灵节)，就叫做Hallowmas.BecominganAmericanTraditionHalloweenarrivedinNorthAmericacourtesyofIrishandScottishemigrantswhobroughtstoriesofSamhainandHallowmas,aswellastalesofghostsandspiritswiththeminthe1840’s,duringtheIrishPotatoFamine.TheholidayflourishedintowhatisnowmoderndayHalloween.1840年代，爱尔兰区发生了饥荒，一些爱尔兰及苏格兰人移民到北美洲，也把这些习俗和鬼故事带到了北美洲，渐渐地，北美洲人也开始庆祝Halloween(万圣节)。TraditionsofHalloween许多关于Halloween(万圣节)习俗，包括变装打扮，不捣蛋就给糖的游戏，咬苹果的游戏，刻番瓜灯笼，和点燃大营火等习俗，都可以追溯到凯尔特人Samhain节，或是Hallowmas这些节日。ManyofthetraditionsassociatedwithHalloweencanbetracedbacktotheancientfestivalsofSamhainandHallowmas.Traditionsincludecostuming,trick-or-treating,bobbingforapples,pumpkincarving,andthelightingofbonfires.CostumingCostumeswerewornbytheCeltsforSamhainandtheChristiansforAllHallows’Eveasadisguisetoconfuseand/orscareawaythespirits/ghoststheybelievedwerefreelyroamingtheEarthfrompossessingtheirsouls.Today,althoughwenolongerbelievethatspiritsareflyingfreely,modernizedcostumesarewornatHalloweenbychildrengoingtrick-or-treatingandbyadultsseekingfunandamusement.过去，变装打扮是为了让鬼魂们搞不清楚，免得惹祸上身。现在，虽然人们不再相信鬼魂们会在阳间跑来跑去，但是小孩子还是会装扮自己到处玩不给糖就捣蛋的游戏﹔而大人则是觉得装扮自己有趣又好玩。Trick-or-treatingThemoderndaycustomofTrick-or-Treatingoriginatedfromtheveryoldcustomof“Going-a-souling”orbeggingforsoulcakes.Soulcakeswerebakedgoodsofferedtosoulsofthedeparted.TheChristianChurchencouragedthepracticeoftheneedygoingfromhometohomegatheringfood(Going-a-souling)atHarvesttime.Prayersfortherecentlydeceasedfromtheneedywereexchangedwiththegivingfamily.不给糖就捣蛋的游戏起源于要灵魂饼干的习俗，所谓的灵魂饼干就是将烤好的饼干祭祀过世的人。后来，基督教会鼓励贫穷的人在收获的季节里挨家挨户地乞求食物，若是得到食物，这些穷人就会帮这家庭中过世的人祈祷以谢谢他们。而穷人们对那些吝啬不给食物的人通常会以恶作剧来惩罚他们，或是诅咒他们下一年都会厄运缠身。大部分人都认为不给糖就捣蛋是起源于恶作剧之夜和要灵魂饼干(going-a-souling)的习俗。ThosenotofferinggoodswereusuallypunishedwithatrickonHalloweennightorhexedwithmisfortuneforthenextyear.Theterm“trick-or-treat”isthoughttohavefirstoriginatedinBritainwhereHalloweenwasknownas“MischiefNight”andthepracticeof“going-a-souling”wascommon.PumpkinCarvingCarvedpumpkinsaretraditionallyknownas“Jack-o-lanterns.”Traditionally,thejack-o-lanternwascarvedfromaturnip,potato,orbeetandlitwithaburningcandle.Theselanternsrepresentedthesoulsofdepartedlovedonesandwereplacedinwindowsorsetonporchestowelcomethedeceased.TheyalsoservedasprotectionfromevilspiritsfreedfromthedeadonHalloweennight.InNorthAmerica,turnips,potatoes,andbeetswerenotasreadilyavailable,sothepumpkinwasusedandfoundtobeasuitablereplacement.众人皆知的杰克番瓜灯是刻在番瓜上，但人们一开始是在萝卜，马铃薯或甜菜上刻灯笼，然后挖空并点燃蜡烛在里面，形成灯笼。这些灯笼代表着过世的亲友，并被放置在窗边或门廊上，以欢迎他们回来。他们也被视为可趋魔避邪的象征。在北美洲，萝卜，马铃薯和甜菜很罕见，因此常见的番瓜就成了非常适合的代替品。Jack-o-lanternsPeoplehavebeenmakingJack-o-lanternsatHalloweenforcenturies.ThepracticeoriginatedfromanIrishmythaboutamanknownas“StingyJack.”StingyJackone