The Taditional Halloween

　　Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits. Witches flying on broomsticks with ghosts, goblins and skeletons have all evolved as symbols of Halloween. Bats, owls and other nocturnal animals are also popular symbols of Halloween. They were originally feared because people believed that these creatures could communicate with the spirits of the dead.

　　Black cats are also symbols of Halloween and have religious origins as well. Black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. During the Middle Ages it was believed that witches could turn themselves into black cats. Thus when such a cat was seen, it was considered to be a witch in disguise. All these are popular trick-or-treat costumes and decorations for greeting cards and windows.

　　Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night.

　　Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is an orange-colored squash, and orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Carving pumpkins into jack- o'-lanterns is a Halloween custom also dating back to Ireland. A legend grew up about a man named Jack who was so stingy that he was not allowed into heaven when he died, because he was a miser. He couldn't enter hell either because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk on the earth with his lantern until Judgement Day. So Jack and his lantern became the symbol of a lost or damned soul. To scare these souls away on Halloween, the Irish people carved scary faces out of turnips, beets or potatoes representing "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o-lantern. When the Irish brought their customs to the United States, they carved faces on pumpkins because in the autumn they were more plentiful than turnips. Today jack-o-lanterns in the windows of a house on Halloween night let costumed children know that there are goodies waiting if they knock and say "Trick or Treat!"

　　【參考譯文】

　　萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜起源于與邪惡幽靈相關(guān)的慶?；顒?dòng)，所以騎著掃帚的女巫、幽靈、小妖精和骷髏都是萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的標(biāo)志物。蝙蝠、貓頭鷹和其他夜間活動(dòng)的動(dòng)物也是萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的普遍標(biāo)志。起初，這些動(dòng)物讓人覺(jué)得非常可怕，因?yàn)槿藗冋J(rèn)為這些動(dòng)物能和死者的幽靈進(jìn)行交流。

　　黑貓也是萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的標(biāo)志物，并且也有一定的宗教起源。人們認(rèn)為黑貓可以轉(zhuǎn)生，具有預(yù)言未來(lái)的超能力。在中世紀(jì)，人們認(rèn)為女巫可以變成黑貓，所以人們一看到黑貓就會(huì)認(rèn)為它是女巫假扮的。這些標(biāo)志物都是萬(wàn)圣節(jié)服裝的普遍選擇，也是賀卡或櫥窗上很常用的裝飾。

　　黑色是傳統(tǒng)的萬(wàn)圣節(jié)顏色，這可能是因?yàn)槿f(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜的各種傳統(tǒng)或儀式都是在晚上舉行。

　　南瓜也是萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的標(biāo)志性象征。南瓜是橘黃色的，所以橘黃色也成了傳統(tǒng)的萬(wàn)圣節(jié)顏色。用南瓜雕制南瓜燈也是一個(gè)萬(wàn)圣節(jié)傳統(tǒng)，其歷史也可追溯到愛(ài)爾蘭。傳說(shuō)有一個(gè)名叫杰克的人非常吝嗇，因而死后不能進(jìn)入天堂，而且因?yàn)樗⌒δЧ硪膊荒苓M(jìn)入地獄，所以，他只能提著燈籠四處游蕩，直到審判日那天。于是，杰克和南瓜燈便成了被詛咒的游魂的象征。人們?yōu)榱嗽谌f(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜嚇走這些游魂，便用蕪菁、甜菜或馬鈴薯雕刻成可怕的面孔來(lái)代表提著燈籠的杰克，這就是南瓜燈(Jack-o'-lantern)的由來(lái)。愛(ài)爾蘭人遷到美國(guó)后，便開(kāi)始用南瓜來(lái)進(jìn)行雕刻，因?yàn)樵诿绹?guó)秋天的時(shí)候南瓜比蕪菁更充足。現(xiàn)在，如果在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的晚上人們?cè)诖皯?hù)上掛上南瓜燈就表明那些穿著萬(wàn)圣節(jié)服裝的人可以來(lái)敲門(mén)搗鬼要糖果。

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