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化长廊为什么要庆祝万圣节前夜？
by Don Vaughan
张宁编译
Halloween has been around for more than a thousand years.Originally a religious 1observance 2,it became increasingly secular 3over the centuries.Today Halloween is considered a holiday for dress -up and fun,especially for children.
Halloween ’s origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival.It was believed that on that day,the souls of the dead returned to their homes,so people dressed in costumes and lit bonfires 4to ward 5off s
pirits.In this way,popular Halloween words such as witches 6,ghosts,and goblins 7became associated with the holiday.
In the 7th century,Pope Boniface IV created All Saints Day,originally celebrated on May 13.A century later,Pope Gregory III moved the holiday to November 1.The day before the saintly celebration became known as All Hallows Eve,or Halloween.
Though the holiday began in Celtic regions of Ireland,the United Kingdom,and France,it quickly spread to other parts of the world.The first American colonists 8in New England were forbidden to celebrate it for religious reasons,though it enjoyed some popularity in the Southern colonies.By the 1800s,fall festivals marking the seasonal harvest incorporated 9Halloween elements,and many Halloween traditions brought by Irish immigrants 10remain today.
The custom of trick -or -treating,in which children dress up in costume and solicit 11treats from neighbors,became popular in the United States in the early 20th century as Irish and Scottish communities revived the Old World custom of “guising 12”,in which a person would dress in costume and tell a joke,or perform some other trick in exchange for a piece of fruit or other treat.By 1950,trick -or -treating for candy had become one of Halloween ’s most popular activities.Today,Halloween is one of the biggest holidays for candy sales in the United States,exceeding 13$2.5billion every year.
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美文欣赏
万圣节前夜的起源可以追溯到古代凯尔特人的节日。据说，在那一天，死者的灵魂会回到他们的家，所以人们变装打扮，点燃篝火，以抵御鬼魂。就这样，万圣节前夜的流行词语，如女巫、鬼魂、妖精等与这个节日联系了起来。
公元7世纪，
教皇卜尼法斯四世设立了万圣节，最初是在5月13日庆祝。一个世纪后，教皇格列高利三世将这个节日移到了11月1日，而万圣节庆典的前一天被称为万圣节前夜。
尽管这一节日始于爱尔兰的凯尔特人地区、英国和法国，但它很快传到了世界其他地区。尽管该节日在美国南部殖民地颇受欢迎，但由于宗教原因，美国新英格兰的第一批移民被禁止庆祝该节日。到了19世纪，标志着季节性丰收的秋季节日吸收了万圣节前夜的元素，爱尔兰移民带来的许多万圣节前夜的传统，仍保留至今。
万圣节之夜孩子们穿着奇装异服，向邻居讨要糖果，“不给糖就捣蛋”的习俗，在20世纪初在美
国流行起来。当时爱尔兰人和苏格兰人社区重新兴起了旧大陆的“伪装”的习俗，即一个人乔装打扮讲个笑话或表演其他一些把戏，以此换取一块水果或其他的食物。到了1950年，“不给糖就捣蛋”已经成为万圣节前夜最受欢迎的活动之一。如今，万圣节前夜是美国糖果销售额最大的节日之一，每年销售额超过25亿美元。
（英语原文选自：britannica ）【Notes 】1.religious []宗教的2.observance []惯例；仪式；庆祝3.secular []世俗的；非宗教的4.bonfire []篝火；营火5.ward []避开；守护6.witch []巫婆，女巫7.goblin []小妖精8.colonist []殖民者；殖民地居民；移民9.incorporate []包含，吸收；体现10.immigrant [].移民，侨民11.solicit []请求；乞求12.guise []使化装；伪装13.exceed [].超过；胜过
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