欧美人文风情第112篇:万圣节的由来

 From communion with the dead to pumpkins¹ and pranks², Halloween is a patchwork³ holiday,  从与死者交流到南瓜和恶作剧，万圣节是个大杂烩的节日，

stitched together with cultural, religious and occult traditions that span centuries. 与跨越数个世纪，文化和宗教上的神秘传统交织在一起。

It all began with the Kelts, a people whose culture had spread across Europe more than two thousand years ago.  这一切是从凯尔特人开始的，在两千多年前凯尔特人的文化就已经遍布欧洲。

October 31st was the day they celebrated⁴ the end of the harvest season in a festival called "Samhain."  十月三十一日是个他们在称作“Samhain”的庆典上，庆祝丰收季结束的日子。

That night also marked the Keltic New Year and was considered the time "between years,"  那个夜晚一样也是凯尔特人新年的标志，而且被认为是“年间”的时间，

a magical time when the ghost of the dead watched the Earth. “年间”是死者的亡魂监视着地球的神秘时刻。

It was the time when the veil between death and life was supposed to be at its thinnest. 人们认为那一刻是死者与生者之间的帷幕最薄的时候。

On "Samhain," the villagers gathered and lit huge bonfires to drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living.  在“Samhain”庆典上，村民聚在一起燃起熊熊的营火驱使死者回到灵性世界，并使它们远离生者。

But, as the Catholic Church's influences grew in Europe, it frowned on the pagan rituals like "Samhain." 然而，随着天主教教会的影响力在欧洲增加，它不满像是“Samhain”这样的异教徒仪式。

In the 7th century, the Vatican began to merge⁵ it with the church-sanctioned holiday.  第七世纪时，梵蒂冈开始将其与教会认可的节日合并在一起。

So November 1st was designated "All Saints' Day" to honor martyrs⁶ and the deceased faithful. 所以十一月一日被指定为“诸圣日”以对殉教者们及过世的信徒表示尊敬。

Both of these holidays had to do with the afterlife and about survival after death.  这两个节日都与来世和死而复生有关。

It was a calculated move on the part of the Church to bring more people into the fold. 这是由教会所作出的老谋深算的一步，让更多人加入天主教的行列。

"All Saints' Day" was known then as "Hallowmas." "Hallow" means "holy" or "saintly",  此后“诸圣日”被称作“Hallowmas”。 Hallow的意思是“神圣的”或“像圣徒的”，

so the translation is roughly "Mass of the Saints." The night before October 31st was "All Hallows' Eve,"  所以翻译大概就是“大批的圣徒”。十月三十一日的前夕则是“诸圣夜”，

which gradually morphed into "Halloween." 渐渐地演化成“万圣节”。

The holiday came to America with the wave of Irish immigrants during the Potato Famine of the 1840s. 这个节日在1840年代马铃薯大饥荒期间，随着爱尔兰移民潮来到了美国。

They brought several of their holiday customs with them, including "Bobbing for Apples" and playing tricks on neighbors, 他们带来了几种节日习俗，包括“咬苹果游戏”和对邻居恶作剧，

like removing gates from the front of houses.  像是移走房子前的大门。

The young pranksters were masked, so they wouldn't be recognized.  年轻的恶作剧孩子们都戴着面具，才不会被认出来。

But over the years, the tradition of harmless tricks grew into outright⁷ vandalism. 但是这些年来，这些无害的恶作剧传统变成了彻底的破坏行为。

Back in the 1930s, it really became a dangerous holiday.  回溯到1930年代，这确实变成了个危险的节日。

I mean, there was such hooliganism and vandalism.  我的意思是，有这样的无赖行径和破坏行为。

Trick-or-treating was originally an extortion deal: Give us candy or we'll trash your house. Trick-or-treating（不给糖就捣蛋）原本就是笔勒索交易：给我们糖果，不然我们会破坏你家。

Store keepers and neighbors began giving treats or bribes⁸ to stop the tricks,  商家和街坊邻居开始给小点心或贿赂来停止恶作剧，

and children were encouraged to travel door to door for treats as an alternative to trouble-making.  人们鼓励孩子挨家挨户要点心，作为替代捣乱的另一项选择。

By the late 30s, "trick-or-treat" became a holiday greeting. 在三十年代晚期，“不给糖就捣蛋”变成了节日的问候语。

 

1 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

2 pranks   

n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

3 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

6 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏