1、第九节 万圣节前夕我们要了解万圣节前夕(Halloween)，首先要从万圣节(All Saints Day)说起，按照基督教的习惯，每年的11月1 日为万圣节，是纪念所有圣徒的日子。所以万圣节前夕便是万圣节的前一天，即10月31日。在中世纪的英格兰，万圣节被叫做 All Hallows, 大家知道，“前夕”的英语是 eve, 所以万圣节前夕便由 Halloweve 演变成 Halloween。在英、美等国，人们在万圣节前夕（尤其是晚上）要举行各式各样的活动，且各地的风俗也不完全一样。在英国，万圣节前夕可以说是一个鬼节。因为大多数活动都与“鬼”有关。每到万圣节前夕这天晚上，人们就围坐在火炉旁，讲
2、述一些有关鬼的故事，有时让一些在场的小孩听起来好生害怕。另外据说篝火可以驱逐鬼怪，所以人们就在万圣节前夕在野外四处点起篝火，以便赶走鬼怪。还有的人则把萝卜或甜菜头挖空，做成一个古怪的似头形状的东西，并在上面刻上嘴和眼睛，在其内放一支点燃的蜡烛，使其看上去像一个古怪而让人害怕的灯笼，然后把它挂在树枝上或大门上，据说这样也可以驱逐妖魔鬼怪。在美国，万圣节前夕也是一个热闹非凡的节日。这一天，典型的节日“风景”是人们所谓的“杰克灯”或叫“南瓜灯”(Jack-o-lantern)。南瓜灯的做法是：将一南瓜去顶，在南瓜身上控两眼、一鼻、一嘴，使之成为一脸形，然后在其中放一支点燃的蜡烛。据说，南瓜灯还可以驱
3、逐妖魔怪，所以每逢万圣节前夕这一天晚上，不少家庭前口也挂有南瓜灯，但时至今日，它已不再表示对付鬼怪了，只是节日标记而已。在美国，万圣节前夕主要是小孩子的节日。这一天，当夜幕降临的时候，孩子们身穿古怪的服装，头戴面具，装扮成鬼怪的形象，手里提一盏“南瓜灯”，从一家走到另一家，在大门口大声叫着“是请客还是要我们捣乱”(Trick or Treat)。这时若主人不“请客”(treat)，这些玩皮的孩子就会动真格地“捣乱”(trick)，有的在主人的门把手上涂上肥皂或往玻璃窗上洒肥皂水；有的则干脆把主人的门给卸下来；还有的顺手拿走主人放在门口的日常小用品等。但是人们一般对这些天真可爱的小客人还是欢迎的
4、，并且一般事先都准备好糖果或零钱。当他们一听到这些孩子到来时，马上迎出来，给孩子们分发糖果或零钱。Halloween Comes to AmericaAs European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Because of the rigid Protestant belief systems that characterized early New England, celebration of Halloween in colonial times wa
5、s extremely limited there.It was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups, as well as the American Indians, meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included play parties,
6、public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each others fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the telling of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn
7、 festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Irelands potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the cele
8、bration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became todays trick-or-treat tradition. Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could divine the name or
9、 appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors.In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft.At the turn of the century, Halloween
10、parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything frightening or grotesque out of Halloween celebrations. Because of t
11、heir efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts
12、of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities during this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children durin
13、g the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community
14、 to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the countrys second largest commercial holiday.