双语阅读：万圣节的习俗和来源（二）

万圣节马上就要到了，各种南瓜灯、稻草人等万圣节的装饰和符号代表的意思你都知道吗？万圣节又是在什么时候起源的？为什么在这个节日里，我们必读得买糖果和盛装打扮呢？下面的雅思双语阅读材料将为大家详细解答这些问题，一起来看看吧！更多英语短文及双语阅读材料，关注新通外语网(www.igo99)，或拨打免费电话400-618-0272咨询。

Bats 蝙蝠

Bats are nocturnal?creatures, so it’s natural that a celebration about the end of the light seasons and the beginning of the dark ones would incorporate them.? Additionally, in the old days Halloween meant big bonfires, which draw mosquitoes and moths, which would in turn draw bats,。Also, once vampire legends made their way into Halloween folklore, the position of the bat was set – since it was thought that vampires could transform into bats.?

蝙蝠是昼伏夜出的动物。庆祝丰收原本就是在白色季节（秋季）的结束和黑色季节（冬季）的开始期间。于是蝙蝠自然而然成为“步入夜色”的代表动物。除此之外，万圣节曾经流行的庆祝方式是在篝火旁进行。这样无疑吸引了许多蚊子和蛾子，因此也间接吸引来了蝙蝠。同时，吸血鬼传说一度曾是民间最流行的热点话题。自从古人认定吸血鬼能够变成蝙蝠在天空中飞舞的时候，蝙蝠在人们心中的地位便再也无法动摇了。 

Black Cats 黑猫

OK, so while Halloween started out to be about the end of harvest, etc., there are some ancient cultures who also believed that, on Halloween night, the veil between the living world and the spirit world was, if not lifted entirely, at least a little thinner.? Ancient Celtic religions taught that cats were reincarnated souls of humans, and that they were able to see the future.? Also, it was thought (as mentioned earlier) that witches could turn into cats.? Truth be told, most single ladies were thought to be witches, and, just like today, many of the single ladies had?cats.? So, in the 1600’s or so, the local cat lady would have probably been tried for witchcraft.

大众普遍接受的是万圣节是由庄家丰收之后举办的庆祝活动演变而来，但依然还有一些远古的文化被人们所接受：在万圣节的晚上，人间和冥界的关系会发生微妙的变化，即使两者没有实际上联通，但还是有可能通过某种方式来接触的。古代凯尔特宗教认为，猫是能够被人类的灵魂所附体。通过猫的眼睛，我们可以看到未来。而且在此之前，人们还认为巫师能够附体在猫的身上。实话说，当时许多单身的女士被看作是女巫。就算时至今日，许多单身的女士还是会养猫相伴，所以在十五世纪，养着猫的单身女士都被认定其具有某种可怕的巫术。

Skeletons 骷髅

The Druids and the Celts believed that the skull was the “psychic seat” of the human soul.? All in all, skulls and skeletons are associated with Halloween because they represent the end of the physical part of life, something that is connected to Halloween both because of the death of the “light” seasons and because of the perceived connection to the spirit realm.

以前的祭司和凯尔特人相信头骨是人类灵魂的寄居地。总的来说头骨和骷髅之所以与万圣节有关是因为他们代表着生命在肉体层面的消亡。这与万圣节是在庆祝白色季节（秋季）的终结之意在精神层面而言，又是不谋而合。 

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Ghosts 鬼怪

The idea of ghost plays into this idea that Halloween night is the one night that the spirits of the ancestors are able to walk among the living.?

人们认为在万圣节之夜，那些死去的人的鬼魂能够在人间游走。目的不用多说，肯定是在找还魂的机会！ 

Masks and Costumes 面具和服饰

Speaking of ghosts, what is Halloween without costumes Back in Celtic times, it was thought that if you could trick the spirit, the spirit would refrain from bothering you about pesky things like tributes and respect.? On a night that the “veil” between the spirit world and the natural world was so thin, it’s best to pretend to be someone else.? In the 1950’s, trick-or treating became all the rage in the United States (can you believe it was that late?)

一说起鬼怪，万圣节不能缺少的当然是鬼怪的服饰啦！追溯到凯尔特时期，凯尔特人认为如果你能够捉弄鬼魂，那么它将不再有胆量去骚扰你，反而会更加敬重你。在万圣节当晚，人间和冥界的隔膜会变得非常单薄，防止鬼上身的最好的办法就是戴上面具假装成另一只鬼。1950年后，“不招待就使坏”的习俗才开始在美国流行起来。（你能想象到这种习俗竟然是近代的产物？） 

Pumpkin lanterns 南瓜灯

Originally, the beggars put candles inside them to light their way from house to house to beg and pray.? Eventually, the tradition changed to carving pumpkins, and Jack-o-Lanterns as we know them were born.? One legend sticks out above all others in regards to the Jack-o-lantern tradition.? An Irishman named “Stingy Jack” was a?drunk?and a prankster, and he managed to make both God and the Devil angry.? He died, and neither heaven nor hell wanted him, so he was stuck wandering around on earth.? He carried a turnip, hollowed out, with a candle inside, to light his way, and to keep him from knocking on their door, the Irish would carve scary jack-o-lanterns to put around their houses to keep him away. Or, so they believed, and a tradition was born.

最初，乞讨者们把南瓜扣个洞，然后放进蜡烛用来照明，以此能够在晚上向人家行乞或者是替他们祷告。最后，该传统逐渐演变成了雕刻南瓜，杰克·奥的南瓜灯由此诞生。这里有个传说，曾经有个叫做“有次的杰克”的爱尔兰人是个地道的酒鬼，也是个爱搞恶作剧的人。最终他的行径惹怒了上帝和魔鬼。他死了之后，天堂和地狱都不愿意收留他，他只能游走于尘世之间，夜幕低垂时分，他就把大南瓜抠个大洞，并将点燃的蜡烛放置其中以此照明，去敲每家每户的大门。爱尔兰人为了能够驱赶走杰克，都在自家门口做同样的南瓜。做南瓜灯的传统因此诞生。

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