万圣节

1. The Custom of Halloween

Halloween is celebrated annually. It is on the night of 31October, when people once believed that ghosts could be seen. Now, in Britain and America, it is a time when children have parties, dress up as witches, make lanterns out of pumpkins from which the inside has been removed, and play “trick or treat”.

Trick or treat is a traditional activity at Halloween. Children dress in costumes and visit houses. At each house they say “Trick or treat”. This means that they will play a “trick”, or joke, on the people in the house unless they are given a “treat ”, e.g sweets or money .Most people prefer to give treats rather than having tricks played on them.

11月1日万圣节是西方的传统节日。万圣节前夜，即10月31日夜晚，是儿童们纵情玩乐的好时候。它在孩子们眼中，是一个充满神秘色彩的节日。夜幕降临，孩子们便迫不及待地穿上五颜六色的化妆服，戴上千奇百怪的面具，提上一盏“杰克灯”跑出去玩。“杰克灯”的样子十分可爱，做法是将南瓜掏空，外面刻上笑眯眯的眼睛和大嘴巴，然后在瓜中插上一支蜡烛，把它点燃，人们在很远的地方便能看到这张憨态可掬的笑脸。

收拾停当后，一群群装扮成妖魔鬼怪的孩子手提“杰克灯”，跑到邻居家门前，威吓般地喊着：“要恶作剧还是给款待”、“给钱还是给吃的”。如果大人不用糖果、零钱款待他们，那些调皮的孩子就说到做到：好，你不款待，我就捉弄你。他们有时把人家的门把手涂上肥皂，有时把别人的猫涂上颜色。这些小恶作剧常令大人啼笑皆非。当然，大多数人家都非常乐于款待这些天真烂漫的小客人。所以万圣节前夜的孩子们总是肚子塞得饱饱的，口袋装得满满的。

为了保护儿童和对他们加以引导，美国的学校和家庭常在万圣节前夜为他们组织丰富多彩的晚会和娱乐活动。孩子们自己动手布置会场，装饰环境，然后装扮成女巫或海盗等模样表演各种节目或做游戏玩。万圣节前夜最流行的游戏是“咬苹果”。游戏时，人们让苹果漂浮在装满水的盆里，然后让孩子们在不用手的条件下用嘴去咬苹果，谁先咬到，谁就是优胜者。

2.万圣节的历史

Halloween 万圣节

History experts say Halloween goes back more than two thousand

years to the Celts of ancient Britain.

历史专家说万圣节要追溯到二千多年来凯尔特人的古老的英国。

October 31st was the Celtic Day of the autumn feast.

10月31日是凯尔特天的秋天的盛宴。

On that day, priests of the Celtic religion prayed that the spirits of the dead would return to their homes for a few hours.在那一天,牧师的凯尔特宗教祈祷死者的灵魂会返回家园了几个小时。

The Celts built huge fires to frighten away evil spirits released with the dead on that night.

凯尔特人建造了巨大的火灾来吓走邪恶的灵魂与死人发布的那天晚上。

Hundreds of years later, the Roman Catholic Church made November first a day to honor Christian Saints.

数百年后,罗马天主教会使11月第一个一天纪念基督圣徒。

It was called Hallow Eve or Halloween.

它被称作万圣节前夕或圣徒。

The name came from the church. 这个名字来自教堂。

But the traditions were closer to the old Celtic beliefs. 但传统接近旧的凯尔特信仰。

People from Scotland and Ireland brought these traditions to America. 从苏格兰和爱尔兰人把这些传统到美国。

Many people still believed spirits played tricks on people on the last night of October.

许多人仍然相信精神就捉弄人在10月的最后一夜。

In the late 19th century, American boys helped the spirits with tricks

of their own. 在19世纪后期,美国男孩帮助精神与他们自己的花招。

On Halloween, they would do things like change street signs or put a wagon on top of a house.

在万圣节,他们会做的事情,比如改变街道标志或把车在一座房子顶部的。

American children continue to celebrate Halloween today.

美国儿童继续今天庆祝万圣节。

Many adults enjoy the holiday as well.

许多成年人也享受这个节日。

They go to holiday parties dress as ghosts, monsters or famous people from history.

他们去假日派对打扮成鬼,怪物或从历史著名的人。

Children continue these Halloween traditions by going out to "Trick or Treat".

孩子们继续这些万圣节传统外出“不给糖就捣蛋”。

They dress as frightening creatures or characters from popular movies. 他们打扮成可怕的生物或字符从受欢迎的电影。

They go from house to house asking for candy.

他们挨家挨户地要糖果。

They may also ask for money for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.