Falling on November 1st of each year, All Saints’ Day is a traditional festival of western culture. Halloween, the night before All Saints’ Day, is the busiest time of this festival. With the exchange between eastern and western culture, there is growing popularity of All Saints’ Day in China. Here, I’m going to share some knowledge concerning All Saints’ Day with you.
每年的11月1日，都是西方文化中的一个传统节日——万圣节。万圣夜——万圣节前的那一夜，是这个节日中最忙碌的时候。随着东西方文化的交流，万圣节在中国也变得愈发流行。这里我将和大家分享一些有关万圣节的小知识。
Dressing Up (化妆)
In the past, October 31st was considered as the day when summer ended and winter started by Celts. It was believed that on this day, ghosts of the dead would return to their hometown to seek the living, by doing which they could come back to life. To drive those ghosts away, people usually dressed up as demons and monsters. Dressing up has become one of the most popular Halloween customs, especially among children. During Halloween, folks hold costume ball to celebrate the festival, dressing up as vampires, ghosts, witches and so on.
凯尔特人认为10月31日是夏天结束、冬天正式开始的日子。人们相信，已故人的亡魂会在这一天回到故居地寻找活人，借此再生。所以在万圣节前夜人们通常会打扮成妖魔鬼怪，以便吓走死人之魂。而面具化妆则成为了最受欢迎的万圣节风俗之一，在儿童中流行更广。在万圣节前夜，人们举行化妆舞会，扮成吸血鬼、幽灵和巫婆等形象来庆祝节日。
Jack o’ Lantern (南瓜灯)
The tradition of Jack o’ Lantern comes from a folk tale about a person called Jack, who was punished for tricking the devil. After he died, his ghost was forced to stay on Earth, roving in the world with a lamp. Jack o’ Lantern is made of hollowed pumpkins. People carve ghosts on the surface of pumpkins and place candles in them so these lanterns can be used for illumination.
南瓜灯的传统来源于一个民间传说。一个名为Jack的人戏弄了恶魔，死后受到了惩罚，他的亡灵只能留在地球上，靠一盏灯在天地间流浪。南瓜灯是由中间挖空的南瓜做的，人们在南瓜表面刻上鬼怪的模样，在中间摆上一根蜡烛，在万圣节时作为灯笼使用。
Trick or Treat （不给糖就捣蛋）
It’s said that ghosts would gather around houses during Halloween and receive treat. As a result, folks would position food around houses to feed them before ghosts hurt human or animals and plundered their harvest. This custom is passed down and has evolved into a game popular among children. During Halloween, children dress up as ghosts, carrying Jack o’ Lanterns, begging for candies from door to door, threatening trick or treat. If children are not well treated, they may play tricks on the owner’s house.
西方古代人相信，万圣节前夜鬼魂会聚集在房子附近，并接受款待，因此村民们会在房屋前后摆放食品，喂饱鬼魂，使它们不会伤害人类和其他动物，或者掠夺其他收成。这一习俗逐渐延续下来，演变成了孩子们的游戏。在万圣节前夜，孩子们化装成鬼怪，提着南瓜灯挨家挨户讨糖吃，发出不给糖就捣蛋的威胁，如果孩子们没有得到赏赐，就可能会对屋主进行恶作剧。
Besides avoiding ghosts, All Saints’ Day was a festival when folks appreciated autumn. However, nowadays Europeans consider it as a chance to have fun, gradually neglecting this special meaning. From my perspective, harvest in autumn makes it possible for us to celebrate All Saints’ Day, which is a gift autumn gives to us. In spite of the faster pace of our lives, we should still remain our gratitude for Mother Nature and inherit this tradition.
同时，除去躲避亡灵，万圣节原本还是一个赞美秋天的节日。但如今在欧洲，人们把万圣节当作一个玩闹的机会，逐渐忽视了万圣节赞美秋光的意义。笔者认为，我们能够庆祝万圣节，得益于秋天的丰收，这是秋天给我们的馈赠，即使生活节奏加快了，我们仍应该怀有对大自然的感恩之心，继承赞美秋光的传统。
Do you have a deeper grasp of All Saints’ Day after introduction? Halloween is coming, have you made adequate preparations for it?
“Trick or treat!”
读完介绍，现在你有没有对万圣节有了一个更深入的了解？万圣节要来了，你的准备做足了吗？
“不给糖，就捣蛋！”
Author：He Chenjie
